BR  146  .S4  1901  ^ 

Selden,  Edward  Griffin,  1841 

-1904,  I 

The  story  of  the  Christian  I 
centuries 


The  Story  of  the 
Christian  Centuries 


EDWARD  GRIFFIN  SELDEN,  D.D. 

Pastor  of  the  Madison  Avenue  Reformed  Church, 
Albany,  N.  Y. 


Fleming  H.   Revell  Company 

Chicago,     New  York    &    Toronto 
Publishers   of   Evangelical    Literature 


COPYRIGHT,  I9OI, 
BY  FLEMING  H. 
REVELL    COMPANY 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

HAP.  PAGE 

Map  of  the  Christian   Empire   of   the 

Old  World 9 

Personal  and  Introductory  ...  9 
I.  The  Apostolic  Period,  A.  D,  30-100. 
Antecedents  of  the  Christian  Church 
in  the  Jewish  and  Gentile  worlds. — 
Wide  range  of  apostolic  labors. — Sig- 
nificant gains. — Assured  progress  .  14 
II.  Centuries  of  Persecution,  A.  D.  100-323. 
Contest  with  heathenism.  —  Church 
organization.  —Christian  literature. — 
Leap  from  ignominy  to  imperial  adop- 
tion          36 

III.  Fall  of  the  RoiMan  Empire,  A.  D.  323- 

Soo.  Supremacy  of  Christianity  in  the 
Roman  world. — Development  of  eccle- 
siasticism. — Doctrinal  controversies. — 
Rise  of  Mohammedism. — Christianity 
among  the  new  nations  of  Europe. — 
The  Reign  of  Charlemagne  .         .     73 

IV.  The  Middle  Ages,  A.  D.  800-1294.    Mis- 

sionary^ enterprise. — The  crusades. — 
Development  of  nationalities. — Mo- 
nastic orders. — Scholasticism. — Sacred 


6  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

CHAP,  PAGE 

architecture.  —  Supremacy     of      the 
Papacy  in  Western  Europe. — Boniface 

VIII 113 

V,  Looking  Toward  Reformation,  A.  D. 
1294-1517.  Forces  working  against  the 
Papacy,  and  toward  Reformation. — 
Pontifical  reigns  and  (Ecumenical 
Councils. — The  Renaissance.  —  Inde- 
pendent thinkers. — Early  reformers  ,  152 
VI.  The  Lutheran  Reformation,  A.  D. 
1 517-1648.  Rise  and  Development 
of  Protestantism  on  the  Continent. — 
Luther  in  Germany. — Zwingli  in  Switz- 
erland. Calvin  in  France  .  .  .  188 
VII.  The  English  Reformation,  A.  D. 
1509-1688.  Religion  at  the  accession 
of  Henry  VIII. — Assertion  of  national 
independence.  — Development  of  Puri- 
tanism to  its  final  triumph  in  the  acces- 
sion of  William  and  Mary  .231 
VIII.  The  Modern  Era,  A.  D.  1648-1900. 
Opening  of  the  New  World,— Religion 
in  Europe  and  America. — Missionary 
enterprises. — Freedom  and  breadth  of 
thought.  A  new  age  of  philosophy, 
science  and  social  reform      .         .         .   268 


The  Story  of  the  Christian 
Centuries 

PERSONAL  AND   INTRODUCTORY 

The  controlling  purpose  of  this  book  is 
to  give  an  interesting  and  connected 
account  of  the  great  movements  by  which 
Christian  civilization  has  been  developed. 
Many  intelligent  people  have  a  vague 
notion  of  the  course  of  things.  They  are 
familiar  with  conspicuous  names,  they  are 
well  read  as  to  isolated  events,  they  are 
not  unacquainted  with  certain  important 
dates  and  statistics,  but  there  are  such  breaks 
in  the  chain  of  their  facts  that  they  do 
not  hold  together.  They  have  lost  the 
sequences  of  even  the  most  stupendous  occur- 
rences. But  in  connection  with  confessed 
distrust  concerning  their  fragmentary  knowl- 
edge there  is  often  a  warmly  expressed  de- 
sire to  possess  a  consistent  account  of  the 
amazing  conquest  of  the  world  by  Chris- 
tianity. 

9 


lo    THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

There  is,  of  course,  no  way  of  making  the 
study  of  Human  History  easy;  for  the  mas- 
tery of  any  science  depends  upon  the  appli- 
cation of  the  mental  powers  with  energy  and 
patience.  But  if  one  has  at  the  outset  an 
assurance  of  satisfactory  results;  of  a  life- 
long enrichment  of  the  mind;  and  of  the 
acquirement  of  facility  in  the  study  of  such 
individuals  and  events  as  are  constantly  be- 
ing encountered  in  general  literature,  there 
should  be  sufficient  impulse  for  a  manful 
attempt  to  develop  a  historical  imagination, 
and  to  gain  a  rational  idea  of  the  general 
lines  of  progress  by  which  mankind  has 
made  advancement.  This  assurance  is  con- 
fidently held  out  to  those  who  will  begin 
where  Christian  history  begins,  and  follow 
the  story  of  the  Christian  centuries.  Many 
are  kept  from  wrestling  with  the  mighty 
problems  involved  because  they  are  lost  in 
the  multitude  and  apparent  confusion  of 
names  and  dates  when  they  attempt  special 
studies,  but  they  may  be  encouraged  to  know 
that  there  is  a  traceable  line  of  development. 
There  has  been  an  ascent  of  man.  There 
has  been  unbroken  advancement  from  the 
first,  and  if  its  story  can  be  brought  within  a 
moderate  compass  and  can  be  made  logically 
progressive  and  complete;  if  great  issues  can 


INTRODUCTORY  ii 

be  presented  as  the  romance  of  a  race,  and 
great  leaders  fairly  portrayed,  men  will  be 
inspired  to  historical  study.  I  have  at- 
tempted, therefore,  to  make  it  all  read  like 
a  story  that  moves  right  on  from  point  to 
point,  hoping  thus  to  secure  interest  in  a 
marvelous  tale,  and  at  the  same  time  to  out- 
line the  great  movements  of  history. 

In  dividing  the  Christian  centuries  into 
Eight  Periods  I  have  not  taken  an  accidental 
or  arbitrary  number,  but  have  found  that  a 
comprehensive  course  most  naturally  and 
simply  breaks  up  into  this  number  of  sec- 
tions. If  the  study  were  to  be  pursued  at 
greater  length  each  period  would  be  readily 
subdivided;  but  in  passing  as  lightly  as  pos- 
sible over  details  and  minor  incidents  one 
almost  inevitably  strikes  into  these  great 
divisions  or  cycles,  each  of  which  is  nearly 
on  a  parity  with  the  others  in  point  of  sig- 
nificance. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  no  attempt  has 
been  made  to  contribute  to  the  scholarship 
of  the  world,  in  the  way  of  original  re- 
search; and  yet  the  hope  is  indulged  that 
the  treatment  will  not  be  found  to  be  un- 
scholarly.  There  has  been  faithful  study  of 
many  different  historians  and  philosophical 
writers,  and  it  is  fair  to  say  that  no  facts  are 


12    THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

given  without  a  judicial  sifting  of  evidence, 
and  no  opinions  expressed  which  have  not 
resulted  from  a  careful  weighing  of  the 
problems  presented. 

Any  student  of  history  in  this  decade  is 
fortunate  in  the  inheritance  of  much  broad 
and  philosophical  thinking  on  the  course  of 
human  development.  The  old  "drum  and 
fife"  histories,  which  dealt  with  campaigns 
and  diplomacies,  have  been  supplanted  by 
a  very  different  class  of  productions.  It 
has  at  length  come  to  be  recognized  that  the 
real  forces  are  mental  and  spiritual,  and  that 
revolutions  have  been  delayed  or  hastened 
by  the  prevalence  of  ideas  and  sentiments 
among  whole  peoples.  Guizot  was  a  student 
of  spiritual  causes,  as  is  seen  in  his  history 
in  which  is  set  forth  the  genius  and  growth 
of  the  French  people.  John  Richard  Green 
delighted  to  trace  the  underlying  forces 
that  shaped  the  English  nation.  Hallam 
was  a  philosophical  student  of  history,  as 
also  was  Mr.  Froude.  All  of  these  histo- 
rians may  have  failed  of  accuracy  and  some- 
times even  of  justness,  but  their  methods 
and  purposes  have  been  true  and  productive. 

I  have  not  often  attempted  to  quote 
authorities;  but  it  affords  me  peculiar  satis- 
faction to  acknowledge  my  great  indebted- 


INTRODUCTORY  13 

ness  to  Prof.  George  P.  Fisher,  who  com- 
bines all  of  the  qualities  of  a  really  great 
historian;  being  at  once  patient  in  scholar- 
ship, conspicuously  fair  in  judgment,  broad 
in  sympathies,  and  virile  in  his  treatment  of 
moral  issues. 

As  already  indicated,  I  have  had  in  mind 
not  a  history  of  the  Church;  that  is,  not  a 
history  marking  the  development  of  an  insti- 
tution, much  less  of  an  organization;  but  the 
rise  of  that  interesting  and  comprehensive 
civilization  which  has  the  Church  for  its  or- 
ganizing center,  and  which  includes  all  the 
elements  of  human  society  at  its  best.  No 
such  study,  however  brief  and  fragmentary, 
would  rightly  approach  the  theme  which  did 
not  involve  "the  divine  idea  that  the  New 
Kingdom  should  not  extirpate,  but  ennoble, 
the  normal  activities  of  human  nature,  and 
appropriate  whatever  is  genuine  and  of 
durable  worth  in  the  culture  and  civilization 
of  the  race."  To  those  words  of  Professor 
Fisher,  I  will  only  add  these  from  Bishop 
Brooks:  "All  the  world's  history  is  eccle- 
siastical history,  is  the  story  of  the  success 
and  failure,  the  advance  and  hindrance  of 
the  ideal  humanity, — the  Church  of  the  liv- 
ing God." 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  APOSTOLIC  PERIOD 

The  study  of  the  rise  and  progress  of 
Christian  civilization  properly  begins  with  a 
glance  at  the  condition  of  the  world  at  the 
advent  of  Christ.  For  no  institution,  no 
form  of  government,  no  type  of  social  life, 
is  built  without  a  foundation.  The  basis  for 
Christianity  was  deeply  laid  in  the  fruitful 
centuries  of  Jewish  nationality  and  in  the 
outworkings  of  thought  and  life  under  an- 
cient civilizations.  The  Apostolic  Period, 
included  within  the  limits  of  this  chapter, 
covers  only  the  handful  of  years  between  30 
A.  D.  and  the  close  of  the  first  century;  and 
is  sharply  bounded  by  the  public  ministry  of 
Christ  and  the  death  of  the  last  Apostles. 
A  brief  review  of  the  antecedents  of  the  new 
religion  will,  however,  be  necessary  to  gain 
a  mastery  of  the  situation,  and  to  give  a 
clear  understanding  of  the  work  which 
needed  to  be  done,  and  of  the  forces  by 
which  it  was  to  be  accomplished. 

In  the  Jewish  world  we  shall  find  a  church 
which  for  many  generations  had  existence 
14 


THE   APOSTOLIC   PERIOD        15 

without  formal  organization,  and  then,  for  a 
much  longer  period,  persisted  in  part  be- 
cause of  the  completeness  and  elaborateness 
of  its  ecclesiastical  structure.  In  the  Patri- 
archal Age  the  Church  was  pre-eminently 
a  family  affair.  It  was  institutional  only  so 
far  as  the  family  and  the  retinue  of  servants 
accepted  the  religious  leadership  of  the 
father  and  master.  It  does  not  appear  that 
there  was  any  priestly  function  preformed 
by  this  unmitred  head,  and  yet  the  very  life 
of  religion,  the  trust  and  the  worship  of  a 
covenant  God,  was  in  the  keeping  of  such 
men  of  faith  and  fidelity  as  Abraham,  Isaac 
and  Jacob. 

As  the  life  of  the  church  passed  into  the 
Mosaic  dispensation  it  underwent  a  distinct 
modification.  The  family  became  a  nation, 
and  religious  provision  was  made  for  a  whole 
people.  Hence  the  elaborate  code,  or  per- 
haps codes,  of  authority,  prescribing  modes 
of  correct  living  in  the  home,  in  the  tribe, 
and  in  the  nation;  and  the  elaboration  of  a 
scheme  for  worship,  and  for  the  establish- 
ment of  a  proper  priesthood. 

After  this  came  the  Davidic  Period,  when 
the  kingdom  was  focused  in  a  political  and 
religious  capital;  when  a  distinct  advance 
had  been  made   in  general  culture;  when  a 


i6    THE    CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

rich  liturgy  was  growing  into  use  in  connec- 
tion with  an  impressive  Temple  service,  and 
the  increasing  influence  of  the  priesthood. 
This  period  passed  insensibly  into  that  of 
the  Prophets,  who  were  both  teachers  and 
reformers;  and  who  watched  with  spiritual 
solicitude  the  habits  and  devotions  of  the 
people,  and  greatly  enriched  the  literature 
of  the  Church  through  all  the  ages  to  come 
by  their  contributions  to  religious  thought 
in  the  name  of  a  God  of  holiness  and  truth. 
The  next  phase  of  the  Jewish  Church  is 
widely  separated  in  time  and  in  essential 
characteristics.  Some  centuries  have  passed 
since  the  last  prophetic  deliverance,  and 
many  events  of  moment  have  modified  the 
life  of  this  religious  people.  The  years  of 
captivity  have  come  and  gone.  The  mass  of 
the  Chosen  People  are  widely  scattered,  and 
over  the  nation  which  still  centers  in  Jeru- 
salem is  the  controlling  hand  of  the  Roman 
government.  The  political  power  is  gone; 
but  with  liberty  of  internal  life  undisturbed 
the  upper  ranks  of  the  Jews  are  sharply 
divided  by  the  boundaries  of  sects  which 
have  already  become  traditional  and  per- 
sistent. The  Pharisees,  originally  the  Puri- 
tans of  the  race,  are  now  largely  formalists; 
the   Sadducees    are    a   select  body    distin- 


THE   APOSTOLIC   PERIOD         17 

guished  by  culture  and  skepticism;  the  Hero- 
dians  are  the  court  party  and  adherents  of 
the  reigning  family;  the  Essenes,  who  are 
much  less  numerous  and  influential,  repre- 
sent tendencies  which  have  been  persistent 
in  the  Church  toward  asceticism;  the  mass 
of  the  people  are  not  formally  identified 
with  any  party. 

Perhaps  more  important  than  this  classi- 
fication of  the  leading  families  was  the  insti- 
tution of  the  Synagogue,  which  had  been 
developed  in  the  land  of  captivity  and 
brought  back  to  flourish  by  the  side  of  the 
Temple,  and  more  widely  and  more  inti- 
mately to  touch  the  minds  of  the  people  by 
its  simpler  service.  The  Synagogue  be- 
longed in  part  to  the  formal  Church,  declar- 
ing itself  by  observable  methods  of  worship; 
but  within  the  Church  and  within  the  Tem- 
ple also,  it  was  an  inner  church  in  which  was 
the  real  vitality  of  the  old  religion  and  the 
hope  of  the  new.  As  the  outgrowth  of  many 
centuries  and  great  experiences,  there  arose 
in  Palestine  in  Christ's  day  a  type  of  char- 
acter not  elsewhere  known  on  earth,  but 
clearly  defined  in  the  few  choice  men  and 
women  who  have  been  made  to  live  through 
the  Gospel  narratives.  Zacharias,  the  priest 
of  holiness,  Simeon  and  Anna  aged  saints 


i8    THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

of  the  Temple,  Elizabeth  and  Mary,  kins- 
folk according  to  the  flesh  and  also  according 
to  the  spirit,  are  representatives  of  that  inner 
circle,  untouched  by  formalism  and  hypoc- 
risy, but  deeply  moved  upon  by  the  Spirit 
and  truth  of  Jehovah,  upon  whose  covenant 
promise  they  waited. 

Because  Judea  was  "the  hearthstone  of  the 
whole  Jewish  race,"  and  because  the  Tem- 
ple was  the  meeting-place  of  multitudes  dur- 
ing the  great  festival  seasons,  vast  numbers 
of  these  widely-scattered  peoples  of  the  old 
faith  came  in  contact  with  the  religion  which 
stirred  the  Holy  City  on  a  notable  Day  of 
Pentecost.  It  is  necessary,  therefore,  to 
take  into  account  the  multitudes  from  all 
parts  of  the  world's  wide  empire  who  were 
converted  to  Christianity.  St.  Peter  sent 
his  noble  epistle  to  "the  Sojourners  of  the 
Dispersion,"  that  is,  to  the  body  of  Jewish 
Christians  scattered  all  the  way  from  Pontus 
and  Alexandria  to  the  confines  of  the  Parthi- 
ans  and  Medes,  eastward,  and  to  Rome  and 
the  cities  of  Gaul,  westward.  The  political 
unity  of  the  Jewish  people  was  gone,  but  the 
bands  of  race  and  religion  held  them  closer 
than  ever.  They  had  maintained  the  faith 
of  Israel,  protesting  against  the  superstitions 
and  abominations  of  the  Gentiles;  now  they 


THE   APOSTOLIC   PERIOD         19 

furnished  "great  companies"  of  believers  to 
the  new  churches  of  missionary  origin. 
From  this  people,  whose  religious  history- 
was  a  prelude  to  the  story  of  Christianity, 
and  whose  worship  betokened  the  purer  type 
of  the  later  Church,  we  turn  to  the  church- 
less  world  of  the  Gentiles.  Here  corruption 
was  deeper  and  darker,  and  unpreparedness 
for  the  Kingdom  much  more  marked.  Their 
own  religions  had  not  led  even  a  "saving 
remnant"  to  wait  with  longing  and  hope  for 
the  Lord's  coming,  while  the  Jewish  faith 
had  touched  lightly  indeed  the  philosophy 
and  the  worship  of  other  nations.  Judaism 
was  never  aggressive.  In  the  early  centuries 
the  comparative  freedom  of  the  Jews  from 
idolatry  had  been  gained  only  by  seclusion 
from  Gentile  peoples.  Even  after  their  own 
monotheism  had  become  impregnable  they 
lacked  the  enthusiasm  for  conquest  and  the 
devotion  for  missionary  service.  The  idol- 
atrous nations,  left  to  themselves,  drifted 
into  an  extreme  of  superstition  on  the  one 
hand,  and  of  skepticism  on  the  other,  that 
left  them  "without  God  and  without  hope 
in  the  world,"  and  subject  to  the  wickedness 
which  in  inconceivably  gross  forms  had  run 
riot  through  the  earth.  It  would  appear 
from  this,  at  first  glance,  that  nothing  had 


20    THE  CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

been  accomplished  through  the  centuries, 
outside  of  the  Chosen  People,  as  a  prepara- 
tion for  the  work  of  Christianity.  Broader 
and  deeper  considerations,  however,  show 
that  even  these  outside  lands  were  to  a  cer- 
tain extent  prepared  for  the  advent  of  Christ, 
and  that  contributions  had  been  made  of 
large  value  to  the  enrichment  of  all  mankind 
and  to  the  furtherance  of  the  Gospel. 

In  two  positive  ways  great  advancement 
toward  the  possible  establishment  of  Chris- 
tianity was  manifest.  First,  the  extension 
of  the  Roman  Empire  had  brought  the  most 
diverse  peoples  into  bonds  of  unity.  Before 
the  close  of  the  first  century  the  rule  of  the 
Csesars  reached  from  Britain  and  Spain  on 
the  seaboard  to  regions  beyond  the  Euphra- 
tes, and  from  provinces  beyond  the  Danube 
on  the  north  to  the  desert  of  Africa  on  the 
south.  All  this  served  to  further  the  spread 
of  Christianity  by  breaking  down  "the 
barriers  of  national  and  race  antipathy." 
Besides  establishing  order  and  furnishing 
protection  to  life  this  sway  of  a  single  gov- 
ernment tended  constantly  to  evoke  a  feeling 
of  unity  and  mutual  interest.  Again,  the 
spread  of  Greek  culture  and  speech  quick- 
ened human  minds  for  the  apprehension  of 
the  new  truth.     Delays  had  been  many  and 


THE   APOSTOLIC   PERIOD        21 

long,  but  now  the  kingdom  was  destined  to 
move  swiftly  to  conquest.  The  way  was 
providentially  prepared  by  the  intellectual 
development  of  the  remarkable  people  occu- 
pying the  Grecian  Peninsula;  and  by  their 
gift  of  art,  philosophy,  science  and  literature 
to  many  other  nations.  The  conquests  of 
Alexander  in  the  East  had  been  speedily 
followed  by  the  adoption  of  the  Greek  lan- 
guage, and  cities  of  culture  had  become  new 
centers  of  influence  for  the  cultivation  of 
Hellenic  thought  and  sentiment. 

On  the  negative  side,  also,  there  was  prep- 
aration for  the  religion  of  faith  and  purity. 
On  the  one  hand  the  old  mythologies  had 
ceased  to  command  the  assent  of  men. 
Priests  could  scarcely  conceal  their  amuse- 
ment at  the  absurdities  of  the  sacrifices 
which  were  still  performed,  and  which  were 
impressive  only  to  the  few.  On  the  other 
hand  religion  and  philosophy  as  known  to 
the  ancients  had  utterly  failed  to  mold  noble 
characters,  or  to  build  a  society  of  stable 
qualities..  Indeed,  the  state  of  morals  was 
so  low  that  observant  men  fell  into  despair 
in  contemplating  the  prevailing  baseness  and 
wretchedness.  Licentiousness  and  cruelty 
had  become  characteristic,  and  the  old  reli- 
gion   tended    to     inflame    rather    than    to 


22    THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

quench  the  mad  passions  of  her  devotees. 
Men  seemed  to  have  reached  the  very  climax 
of  wickedness  with  no  saving  force  in  view. 

As  Dean  Farrar  has  said:  "The  epoch 
which  witnessed  the  early  growth  of  Chris- 
tianity was  an  epoch  of  which  the  horror 
and  degradation  have  rarely  been  equaled, 
and  perhaps  never  excelled,  in  the  annals  of 
mankind.  Were  we  to  form  our  sole  esti- 
mate of  it  from  the  livid  picture  of  its  wick- 
edness, which  St.  Paul  has  painted  with 
powerful  strokes,  we  might  suppose  that  we 
were  judging  from  too  lofty  a  standpoint." 
But  it  is  not  Paul  alone  who  puts  a  "terrible 
brand  upon  the  pride  of  Heathenism,  for 
there  are  abundant  proofs  of  the  abnormal 
wickedness  which  accompanied  the  deca- 
dence of  the  ancient  civilization."  It  was 
an  age  of  "enormous  wealth,  of  unbounded 
self-indulgence,  of  coarse  and  tasteless  lux- 
ury, of  hopeless  fatalism,  of  unspeakable  sad- 
ness and  weariness." 

Out  of  the  very  hopelessness  of  the  pre- 
vailing conditions  had  sprung  up  a  sort  of 
blind  hope.  There  were  no  lower  deeps  of 
misery  and  degradation  into  which  humanity 
could  plunge.  Either  the  race  had  run  its 
course  or  redemptive  forces  were  to  appear 
from  some  unknown  quarter.     Either  human 


THE   APOSTOLIC   PERIOD        23 

society  was  a  failure  and  all  things  had  been 
brought  into  hopeless  confusion,  or  the  gods 
would  interfere  for  rescue.  Thus  it  was  that 
a  certain  expectancy  of  a  crisis  and  a  change 
was,  perhaps  unconsciously,  finding  place  in 
men's  minds  and  preparing  them  to  accept 
the  startling  announcements  of  the  Gospel. 
The  foundation  for  the  final  and  universal 
religion  of  earth  was  laid  in  an  incredibly 
brief  period  of  activity.  The  public  minis- 
try of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  covered  scarcely 
more  than  three  years.  For  thirty  years  he 
was  hidden  away  in  an  obscure  village  of 
Galilee.  Suddenly  he  came  forth  from  this 
retreat  and  took  up  the  work  which  John  the 
Baptist,  as  his  forerunner,  had  begun  by 
arousing  the  people  of  Judea  to  an  unwonted 
religious  zeal.  The  Christ  manifested  him- 
self in  manifold  ministrations  of  grace  and 
power,  preaching  in  Jerusalem  and  in  the 
cities  and  fields  of  Galilee,  opening  to  men 
new  conceptions  of  the  Father  and  of  their 
own  divine  sonship,  establishing  a  perfect 
standard  for  moral  and  spiritual  character, 
showing  kindness  and  compassion  by  word 
and  deed,  sealing  his  devotion  to  the  recov- 
ery of  mankind  by  submission  to  the  mar- 
tyrdom of  the  cross,  and  demonstrating  his 
transcendent   authority  and  might,  by  con- 


24    THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

quering  death  and  appearing  to  the  disciples 
"under  circumstances  that  dispelled  the 
doubts  of  the  most  incredulous  man  among 
them  as  to  the  reality  of  his  resurrection." 

It  was  but  three  years  since  a  handful  of 
men,  chiefly  from  the  lower  walks  of  life, 
had  been  called  to  the  companionship  and 
instruction  of  the  Man  of  Galilee;  but  dur- 
ing that  brief  period  they  had  become  im- 
bued with  his  spirit,  animated  by  his  views 
of  the  Kingdom  of  God,  and  established  in 
the  sublime  faith  that  the  earth  had  at  last 
found  its  Redeemer.  They  met  together  for 
some  days  in  a  room  in  the  city  of  Jerusalem, 
"about  a  hundred  and  twenty"  in  all,  cher- 
ishing sacred  memories  and  waiting  for  the 
promised  power  of  the  Spirit.  They  were 
for  the  time  apart  from  the  world;  and  were 
probably  lost  sight  of  by  those  who  had  pur- 
sued their  Master  with  murderous  malignity. 

The  Day  of  Pentecost,  with  the  usual 
gathering  at  Jerusalem  of  vast  numbers  of 
Jewish  peoples  from  every  quarter  of  the 
earth,  had  now  come.  It  lay  within  the 
divine  plan  to  make  this  the  baptismal-day 
of  the  Christian  Church.  It  became  evident 
to  the  little  company  of  disciples,  chastened 
by  sorrow  and  ripened  by  prayer,  that  this 
was   the   opportunity   for  public  announce- 


THE    APOSTOLIC   PERIOD        25 

ment  of  great  facts  of  which  they  had  been 
eye-witnesses.  At  the  first  stir,  word  of 
what  was  transpiring  ran  like  wildfire,  and 
multitudes  were  brought  together  to  hear  the 
first  Christian  preacher,  who,  filled  with  the 
Holy  Ghost,  was  proclaiming  with  unexam- 
pled boldness  the  testimony  of  God  as  given 
through  Jesus  of  Nazareth  and  calling  men 
to  repentance  and  faith.  Minds  already 
rendered  alert  by  the  previous  teachings  of 
Christ  and  by  the  happenings  of  recent  days 
gave  ready  attention,  and  before  nightfall 
"about  three  thousand  souls"  were  baptized 
in  the  faith  and  loyalty  of  true  discipleship, 
and  a  new  organization  was  formed  which  is 
yet  to  make  complete  its  beneficent  conquest 
of  the  world. 

The  extension  of  Christianity  from  Jeru- 
salem and  Judea  to  the  regions  beyond  was 
accomplished  in  two  ways.  It  was  brought 
about  immediately  and  naturally  by  the  dis- 
persion of  the  Christians,  who  carried  with 
them  the  thrilling  story  of  the  cross  and  of 
the  new  faith.  Many  went  back  from  the 
scenes  of  Pentecost  to  gladden  their  homes 
with  a  new  message,  and  with  uplifted  lives; 
and  many  others  were  scattered  abroad  by 
the  persecutions  which  assailed  the  infant 
Church.     The  very  effort  which  designing 


26    THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

men  had  made  to  complete  the  work  of 
stamping  out  the  new  faith  which  they  had 
supposed  successfully  accomplished  on  the 
night  of  the  crucifixion,  was  one  of  the 
means  used  in  the  ordering  of  Providence 
for  rapidly  spreading  the  good  news.  The 
advance  of  the  Kingdom  was  also  steadily 
pushed  by  the  disciples  who  within  a  few 
weeks  had  been  transformed  into  Apostles 
of  the  Christian  faith.  Almost  immediately 
they  had  been  called  to  Samaria,  a  half-way 
foreign  section,  to  assist  an  Evangelist  who 
had  begun  work  at  the  ancient  capital  of 
Israel.  A  little  later,  at  Joppa,  Peter  had 
a  vision  of  the  world-wide  scope  of  the 
Gospel;  and  at  about  the  same  time  Saul  of 
Tarsus  received  and  accepted  a  summons 
to  lay  down  his  opposition  to  the  Nazarene 
and  take  up  in  place  of  it  a  commission  to 
preach  among  the  Gentiles  the  saving  grace 
of  God. 

There  is  nothing  on  record  more  provi- 
dential than  the  conversion  of  Paul.  He 
was  not  absolutely  indispensable  to  the 
cause  of  humanity,  only  the  Christ  is  that; 
and  yet  it  is  well-nigh  impossible  to  think 
of  the  early  triumphs  of  the  Gospel  apart 
from  the  services  of  this  man.  His  gifts  by 
inheritance  and  early  training  were  all   in 


THE   APOSTOLIC   PERIOD         27 

the  direction  of  an  apostolic  equipment;  and 
when  by  a  radical  conversion  the  very  foun- 
dations of  his  character  were  laid  in  that  of 
his  Master  he  became  at  once  his  chosen 
messenger.  He  put  aside  every  other  am- 
bition and  became  a  man  with  one  mas- 
ter-passion. With  limitless  energy  and 
unflagging  zeal  he  pushed  forward  the  work. 
No  dangers  daunted  him,  no  obstacles 
checked  his  enthusiasm,  no  labors  exhausted 
his  devotion,  no  disappointments  clouded 
his  faith.     For  him  to  live  was  Christ. 

It  is  hardly  fair  to  say  that  the  other 
apostles  were  not  abundant  in  labors,  even 
if  they  fell  behind  the  great  missionary  to 
the  Gentiles,  The  apostle  John  continued 
through  prosecutions  and  manifold  changes 
to  illustrate  in  the  region  about  Ephesus  the 
love  and  spirituality  of  his  Master.  St. 
Peter  became,  by  the  discipline  of  years,  a 
saint  indeed,  and  labored  by  the  special 
"call"  of  his  taste  and  aptitudes  among  his 
countrymen  in  the  east  around  Babylon. 
There  seems  to  be  substantial  truth  in  the 
traditions  which  assign  the  sphere  of 
Andrew's  preaching  to  Scythia;  that  of 
Thomas  to  Parthia  and  India;  and  that  of 
Mark  to  Alexandria. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  details  of 


28    THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

apostolic  services,  there  is  no  doubt  what- 
ever touching  the  general  fact  of  the  exten- 
sion of  the  Kingdom  during  the  first  fruitful 
century  of  Christianity.  It  traversed  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  empire,  from  the 
Pillars  of  Hercules  to  the  banks  of  the 
Indus.  A  chain  of  great  cities  was  held 
fast  for  a  new  doctrine,  and  strong  churches 
were  planted  in  them,  which  became  cen- 
ters of  missionary  activities.  Before  the 
last  of  the  apostles  had  passed  away  the  new 
religion  was  powerfully  organized  in  Jeru- 
salem, in  Antioch  and  Ephesus  on  the 
Asiatic  shore;  and  in  Philippi,  Corinth  and 
Rome  on  the  continent  of  Europe,  while  in 
scores  of  smaller  towns  churches  were  formed 
and  active  enterprises  set  on  foot. 

This  was  an  amazing  accomplishment  in 
the  face  of  a  corrupt  and  indifferent  hea- 
thenism, and  of  a  stubborn  and  malignant 
Judaism.  But  the  significance  of  the 
achievement  is  not  to  be  measured  by  the 
statistics  of  converts  or  even  of  devoted 
workers.  The  Kingdom  cometh  not  by 
observation.  There  was  little  at  this  period 
to  challenge  the  attention,  much  less  to 
awaken  the  apprehensions  of  the  political 
leaders  of  the  Empire.  If  every  item  of 
outward  progress  had    been   detailed   to   a 


THE   APOSTOLIC   PERIOD         29 

Roman  official  he  would  have  yawned  over 
the  tedious  recital  and  scoffed  at  any  predic- 
tions of  the  ultimate  conquest  of  the  earth. 
The  multitudes  still  adhered  to  the  heathen 
religions.  Nevertheless  the  larger  fact  re- 
mains,— as  we  now  see  it  in  retrospect, — that 
Christianity  had  won  a  place  in  the  Empire, 
that  it  had  secured  a  vantage  ground  from 
which  the  complete  conquest  was  surely  to 
be  made.  Certain  forces  had  begun  to 
operate  which  were  rapidly  becoming  irre- 
sistible. 

It  may  be  a  matter  of  historical  interest 
to  make  mention  of  a  half-dozen  significant 
gains  which  at  the  close  of  the  first  century 
stood  to  the  credit  of  the  new  religion.  In 
the  first  place,  the  Church  had  become 
organized.  Compared  with  the  complete 
institution  of  to-day  it  was  exceedingly  sim- 
ple, and  to  the  minds  of  many  may  seem  to 
have  lacked  both  impressiveness  and  effec- 
tiveness. Each  community  of  Christians 
found  a  sufficient  basis  for  worship  and 
mutual  helpfulness  in  the  growing  sense  of 
brotherhood.  Without  elaborate  organiza- 
tion each  "company  of  believers"  became 
a  composite  body;  while  between  the  differ- 
ent churches  communications  were  con- 
stantly passing  in  a  way  to  emphasize  the 


30    THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

larger  unity  of  all  Christians.  At  first  there 
had  oeen  merely  a  great  unorganized  com- 
pany of  converts  at  Jerusalem,  with  smaller 
groups  in  outlying  towns  and  cities.  Grad- 
ually a  scheme  of  organization  was  devised 
and  put  into  practice,  partly  under  the  per- 
sonal supervision  of  the  apostles  and  partly 
in  adaptation  to  circumstances  and  exigen- 
cies. The  historical  book  of  "The  Acts  of 
the  Apostles,"  and  also  the  Epistles,  are 
almost  barren  of  suggestion  as  to  the  details 
of  ecclesiastical  structure,  the  Church  having 
evidently  been  left  to  adapt  itself  to  the 
demands  of  each  land  and  age.  With  this 
liberty,  but  with  the  necessity  upon  it  of 
maintaining  vigorous  life  and  aggressive 
activities,  it  finally  built  itself  up  as  a  vital 
organism  in  the  midst  of  human  society. 

In  connection  with  its  orderly  life  Chris- 
tianity established  the  institution  of  Lord's 
Day  worship.  It  is  apparent  from  Paul's 
letters  that  during  his  day  the  question  of 
Sabbath  observance  was  not  settled  beyond 
dispute.  "One  man  esteemeth  one  day 
above  another;  another  esteemeth  every  day 
alike.  Let  each  man  be  fully  assured  in  his 
own  mind,"  he  had  written  to  the  Romans. 
But  by  the  end  of  the  century  the  Jewish 
Christians    had    yielded    their    traditional 


THE   APOSTOLIC   PERIOD        31 

regard  for  the  Seventh  Day,  while  the  Gen- 
tile converts  were  being  educated  to  the  lov- 
ing observance  of  the  first  day  of  the  week; 
and  the  consecration  of  a  memorial  day  to 
the  Risen  Saviour  had  become  characteristic 
of  the  Christian  Church. 

Another  distinct  gain,  and  one  of  a  value 
too  great  to  be  measured,  is  discovered  in 
the  higher  standard  of  character  and  con- 
duct which  had  become  established  in 
society.  In  nothing  was  the  Church  more 
in  contrast  with  the  heathen  order  of  things. 
Shameless  disregard  for  pure  sentiments,  for 
manly  honor  and  womanly  virtue,  had  dis- 
tinguished the  civilization  which  was  being 
displaced.  Now  came  about  in  every  Chris- 
tian community  a  reformation  of  morals 
which  presented  a  new  type  of  personal 
character  and  of  family  life.  The  regener- 
ation of  society  was  shown  to  be  a  possibil- 
ity and  new  ideas  and  forces  were  actively 
at  work  to  bring  this  about. 

Christianity,  in  its  adjustment  to  social  con- 
ditions had  taken  another  long  step  toward 
universal  dominion.  The  policy  by  which 
alone  it  could  have  enjoyed  continuous  and 
productive  life  through  the  ages,  was  estab- 
lished during  the  first  century.  If  only  an 
ideal  condition  of  things  could  be  tolerated, 


32    THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

then  the  new  religion  must  have  fallen  at 
the  first  conflict  with  ancient  institutions. 
These  could  not  at  once  be  either  abolished 
or  reformed.  Under  the  example  of  the 
Master  and  the  wise  instruction  of  the 
apostles,  Christianity  became  tolerant, 
patient,  adaptable;  leaving  time  to  elimi- 
nate wrongs  and  injustices,  and  to  bring 
about  a  more  equitable  legislation  and  nobler 
customs.  It  was  a  complex  and  difficult  task 
which  the  new  religion  assumed, — to  actually 
regenerate  the  world,  to  modify  social  rela- 
tions and  to  shape  governments  in  the  inter- 
est of  fairness  and  kindness.  Only  the 
policy  established  in  the  apostolic  period 
could  have  made  the  undertaking  a  hopeful 
one.  By  it  even  slaves  of  heathen  masters 
were  taught  to  "adorn  the  doctrine  of 
Christ"  by  lives  of  patient  faithfulness,  and 
the  subjects  of  usurping  kings  were  urged 
to  obedience  and  loyalty,  in  the  interest  of 
peace  and  good  order. 

It  is  too  great  a  thing  to  be  passed  over, 
— that  Christianity  had  already  firmly  estab- 
lished in  the  world  the  active  principle  of 
benevolence.  The  old  world  knew  no 
charity.  The  Jews  had  their  tithing  and 
free-will  offerings,  but  these  were  mainly 
devoted   to   the    support   of   their  Temple 


THE   APOSTOLIC   PERIOD        33 

service,  and  their  charity  never  went  beyond 
the  limits  of  their  own  nationality.  Among 
the  most  cultivated  people  of  heathendom, 
the  sentiment  of  benevolence  was  unfelt  and 
its  practice  unknown.  With  the  introduc- 
tion of  Christianity  came  a  new  conception 
of  the  mission  of  man  and  a  new  spirit  to 
animate  him.  During  the  earliest  weeks  at 
Jerusalem  after  the  Pentecostal  outpouring 
a  wave  of  generosity  and  brotherliness  swept 
over  the  young  Church.  It  was  the  spirit 
of  love  which  was  born  never  to  die.  The 
apostles  urged  upon  Paul  as  he  set  forth  on 
his  missionary  journey  that  which  he  was 
himself  zealous  to  do,  namely,  to  "remem- 
ber the  poor."  Everywhere  his  converts 
responded  to  his  appeals  for  brotherly  help, 
and  before  the  first  generation  of  Christians 
had  passed  away  it  had  become  a  matter  of 
course  to  send  even  across  the  sea  contribu- 
tions from  the  favored  to  the  unfortunate. 
Nothing  is  more  vital  to  Christianity  than 
the  spirit  of  charity,  and  certainly  nothing 
is  more  closely  associated  with  the  redemp- 
tion of  the  world.  And  the  fact  is  signifi- 
cant that  the  foundation  for  the  present 
world-wide  philanthropy  was  laid  far  back 
in  the  apostolic  century. 

One  other  achievement  of  lasting  value 


34    THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

belonging  to  this  earliest  period  was  the 
accumulation  of  a  body  of  sacred  literature. 
We  have  become  accustomed  to  our  com- 
pleted Bible,  but  when  Paul  began  his  mis- 
sionary journeys  the  world  had  a  collection 
of  inspired  Scriptures  no  larger  than  during 
the  reign  of  the  Maccabees.  Christ  had 
given  the  people  no  writings,  and  had 
apparently  laid  no  injunctions  upon  any  man 
to  put  into  permanent  form  the  story  of  his 
life  and  the  record  of  his  teachings.  The 
whole  matter  was  left  to  take  care  of  itself. 
It  seems  a  terrible  risk  to  have  taken,  but 
by  the  end  of  the  century  the  work  had  been 
accomplished.  By  that  time  the  aged  and 
spiritually-minded  St.  John  had  written  his 
last  message  of  love,  while  behind  it  lay  in 
succession  the  Gospel  memoirs,  and  the 
apostolic  letters  which  special  circum- 
stances had  called  forth  during  forty  years  of 
intense  activity  in  widely  separated  fields  of 
Christian  labor.  These  writings,  produced 
in  answer  to  immediate  wants  and  unfore- 
seen emergencies,  were  certainly  the  fruitage 
of  the  Spirit's  influence  upon  minds  already 
soundly  Christian;  and  the  response  of  the 
Church  to  these  records  and  revelations  is 
as  profound  and  tender  to-day  as  when  they 
were  compiled  in  that  early  century. 


THE   APOSTOLIC   PERIOD        35 

To  sum  up  the  achievements  of  the  apos- 
tolic period  we  may  say  that  the  work  of 
redemption  was  then  well  begun.  The  seed 
was  planted;  foundations  were  laid;  organ- 
ization was  being  perfected;  vital  forces  had 
been  set  in  operation.  The  end  could  not 
be  doubtful  in  view  of  the  prevailing  power 
of  truth,  the  vitality  of  righteousness,  the 
irresistible  might  of  love.  Problems  were 
still  untouched,  numberless  difficulties  were 
still  in  the  way,  opposition  was  to  prove 
almost  endless,  yet  the  Kingdom  had  come, 
and  a  new  day  had  already  begun  to  dawn. 


CHAPTER  II 
CENTURIES  OF  PERSECUTION 

The  second  period  in  the  development  of 
Christianity  is  sharply  defined.  It  extends 
from  the  death  of  the  last  apostle  to  the 
conversion  of  the  Emperor  Constantine  and 
the  consequent  change  in  the  relation  of 
the  new  religion  to  the  state.  The  Church 
entered  upon  this  period  without  the  per- 
sonal guidance  and  inspiration  of  those  who 
had  been  immediately  associated  with  its 
Founder.  As  the  Twelve  had  been  left 
alone  in  the  world  upon  the  ascension  of 
their  Master,  so  now  the  great  body  of  dis- 
ciples constituting  the  Church  and  represent- 
ing Christ  in  the  world  was  left  without  an 
authoritative  source  of  personal  appeal. 
With  multiplying  problems  of  thought  and 
action;  with  an  expanding  field  and  an 
intensified  opposition,  the  young  church 
increasingly  asserted  itself  as  a  regenerating 
force  in  human  society.  The  first  stage  had 
been  successfully  passed,  and  the  second 
was  opening  with  the  promise  born  of 
achievements  already  remarkable  It  was 
36 


CENTURIES  OF  PERSECUTION   37 

only  three-quarters  of  a  century  since  the 
close  of  Christ's  ministry,  but  the  Word  had 
been  proclaimed  in  many  lands  to  vast  mul- 
titudes; the  great  centers  of  the  Empire 
were  already  held  by  strong  churches,  and 
the  new  ideas  were  silently  molding  the 
sentiments  of  men.  At  the  beginning  of 
this  period  Christianity  had  scarcely  at- 
tracted the  attention  of  the  Roman  officials 
as  a  separate  religion.  During  the  progress 
of  two  centuries  it  was  set  upon  by  the 
forces  of  the  government  under  the  aroused 
animosity  of  emperors  and  people.  At  the 
close  of  that  period  it  was  established  as  the 
religion  of  the  Empire. 

It  will  be  worth  while,  first  of  all,  to  note 
more  exactly  the  extent  of  Christianity,  and 
the  points  of  vantage  it  had  gained  in  the 
great  campaign  which  it  was  conducting 
during  this  period. 

At  the  end  of  the  third  century  the  Church 
was  not  further  removed  in  time  from  the 
days  of  apostolic  labor  than  we,  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  twentieth  century,  are  from 
the  settlements  of  the  English  in  Massachu- 
setts Bay,  and  of  the  Dutch  along  the  Hud- 
son. By  that  time  there  was  a  flourishing 
church  at  Edessa  in  the  heart  of  the  Meso- 
potamian   valley,    counting  the   king   in  its 


38    THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

membership.  Beyond  this  region  eastward 
the  Gospel  had  been  effectively  preached  in 
Persia,  Media,  Parthia,  and  Bactria,  cer- 
tainly in  Arabia,  and  possibly  in  India. 
Along  the  then  populous  northern  shore  of 
Africa  was  a  chain  of  strong  churches,  be- 
ginning at  Alexandria  on  the  Nile  and 
extending  through  Gyrene  to  Garthage, 
which  was  in  religious  matters,  as  long  be- 
fore in  commerce  and  arms,  a  rival  of 
Rome.  At  Lyons  there  was  a  vigorous 
church,  whose  leaders  were  influencing  the 
thought  of  Christendom.  Other  points  in 
Gaul  had  also  been  occupied.  There  were 
likewise  outposts  of  Christianity  in  Ger- 
many west  of  the  Rhine,  with  probably  a 
foothold  gained  in  Britain.  The  three  great 
rivers  along  the  northern  boundaries  of  the 
Empire,  the  Thames,  the  Rhine  and  the 
Danube,  were  touched  by  the  streams  of 
Christian  influence  while  the  shores  of  the 
"Great  Sea"  (The  Mediterranean)  nowhere 
failed  to  respond  to  the  appeals  of  the  new 
religion. 

It  is  impossible  to  calculate  with  even 
approximate  accuracy  the  numbers  of  actual 
adherents  of  the  church  in  the  various  lands; 
nor  would  it,  indeed,  profit  greatly  to  have 
full  statistics  of  communicants  and  support- 


CENTURIES  OF  PERSECUTION   39 

ers.  The  mere  rehearsal  of  figures  gained 
from  missionary  reports  to-day  from  India 
and  Japan  gives  but  faint  indication  of  the 
power  and  promise  of  Christianity  in  those 
countries.  So  was  it  in  the  Roman  Empire 
at  the  close  of  the  third  century.  In  an 
outward  way  a  successful  policy  had  been 
pursued  since  the  days  of  St.  Paul's  wise 
enterprise;  the  Christian  forces  were  massed 
in  cities.  Christianity  held  the  centers  of 
wide-reaching  influence.  Antioch  was  the 
seat  of  an  immense  church,  estimated  at  fifty 
thousand.  Alexandria  had  been  almost 
entirely  captured  by  the  new  faith;  Rome 
and  Carthage  were  bulwarks  for  Christianity 
against  pagan  attack;  and  so  the  story  runs 
throughout  the  Empire. 

Moreover,  the  new  religion  presented  an 
unbroken  front  against  the  divided  forces  of 
the  enemy.  The  heathen  had  many  gods 
and  many  cults,  so  that  there  could  be  no 
effective  combination  of  religious  forces  as 
opposed  to  the  united  adherents  of  the  cause 
of  Christ,  and  the  faith  of  the  one  God. 
Furthermore,  there  was  in  Christianity  in- 
herent truth  and  spiritual  power.  Within 
the  visible  organization  were  unseen  forces 
which  the  world  could  not  estimate;  but 
with  which  it  had  finally  to  reckon. 


40    THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

Looking  back  upon  the  status  of  Chris- 
tianity in  the  light  of  this  measurement  of 
its  advantages  it  is  easy  to  say,  "It  could 
not  have  failed  to  conquer  the  world"  ;  and 
yet  in  our  historical  study  we  must  take  into 
account  the  tremendous  problem  which  it 
was  compelled  to  face  all  through  these 
early,  experimental  centuries.  The  vastness 
and  complexity  of  the  undertaking  is  under- 
stood when  it  is  declared  to  have  been  noth- 
ing less  than  the  control  of  the  whole  of 
human  life.  Not  that  this  was  distinctly 
aimed  at  by  the  leaders  at  the  outset.  They 
thought  only  to  make  converts  and  gather 
them  into  the  churches;  they  thought  to 
withstand  the  attacks  of  hostile  classes  and 
to  build  up  the  new  organization.  But  the 
real  work  which  Christianity  had  to  do  was 
deeper,  broader  and  more  varied.  It  set  out 
to  be  a  universal  religion,  but  to  become 
that  it  must  dominate  the  whole  of  life — in 
the  individual,  in  the  family,  in  society,  in 
government,  and  in  the  current  thoughts  and 
sentiments  of  men. 

See  how  much  that  meant  in  the  second 
century.  The  man  who  was  a  slave  to 
sensuality  must  gain  purity  and  self-control; 
the  man  who  was  cruel  and  heartless  must  be- 
come gentle  and  sympathetic;  the  man  who 


CENTURIES  OF  PERSECUTION   41 

was  untouched  by  moral  claims  must  become 
conscientious;  the  man  who  was  crooked  in 
his  dealings  must  become  fair  and  honest. 
Yet  even  so  great  a  task  was  successfully- 
undertaken.  Of  course,  faults  which  to-day 
would  be  inexcusable  —  especially  those 
looking  toward  vanity  or  coarseness — were 
not  uncommon;  and  yet  the  defenders  of 
Christianity  could  point  to  a  change  in  the 
type  of  personal  character  under  the  influ- 
ence of  the  new  religion  which  amounted  to 
a  moral  Evolution.  So  far  as  social  life 
was  concerned  two  tendencies  had  to  be 
steadfastly  resisted;  the  one  being  the  tend- 
ency toward  seclusion  from  the  world,  the 
other  being  the  tendency  toward  concession 
to  prevailing  customs.  It  was  not  so  simple 
a  matter  to  adjust  a  pure  religion  to  the  multi- 
farious demands  of  pagan  society,and  yet  this 
is  what  Christianity  actually  succeeded  in 
doing.  It  neither  shut  itself  into  a  clois- 
tered life,  nor  did  it  lose  character  through 
accommodation  to  an  evil  world.  In  the 
retrospect  it  seems  an  amazing  accomplish- 
ment. At  the  outset  everything  was  tainted 
with  corruption.  The  old  religion  was 
full  of  superstitions,  empty  forms,  and  de- 
grading ceremonies;  business  was  often 
connected  with  the  traffic  fostered  by  idol- 


42    THE   CHRISTIAN    CENTURIES 

atry  and  magic;  amusements  were  cruel  or 
base. 

How  could  Christianity  live  in  the  midst 
of  a  social  life  honeycombed  with  vice? 
How  maintain  the  family  when  a  part  re- 
mained heathen?  How  conduct  business  or 
pursue  trade  in  dealing  chiefly  with  pagans? 
How  share  in  a  government  which  was  ad- 
ministered in  connection  with  superstitious 
rites?  How  could  a  standard  radically  new 
be  introduced  and  maintained  in  the  daily 
friction  and  unavoidable  conflict  with  ancient 
prejudices  and  habits?  All  of  the  old  could 
not  "be  abrogated  or  abolished  without  de- 
stroying the  very  bonds  of  society  with  its 
institutions  and  activities.  It  must  needs 
assimilate  much  of  the  old  life,  transforming 
it  gradually  by  the  new  spirit  and  the 
higher  moral  standards.  It  must  infuse  new 
ideas  and  sentiments  which  in  time  would 
modify  the  very  structure  of  society. 

To  accomplish  this  Christianity  had  two 
revolutionary  forces  at  command — the  new 
idea  of  God  and  the  new  idea  of  man.  The 
ancient  conception  of  Deity  was  either  in- 
effective or  debasing;  but  Christianity  gave 
men  the  idea  of  a  Supreme  Being  to  be  wor- 
shiped with  profound  reverence;  to  be  loved 
for  his  boundless  grace;    to  be  trusted   for 


CENTURIES  OF  PERSECUTION   43 

his  goodness  and  wisdom;  and  to  be  ap- 
proached in  spiritual  and  personal  fellow- 
ship. The  ancient  conception  of  man  either 
ignored  the  individual  as  contemptible  or 
incorporated  him  into  the  state  for  which  he 
was  supposed  to  exist;  but  Christianity  pre- 
sented him  in  his  dignity  as  made  in  the 
image  of  God,  and  in  his  worth  as  redeemed 
by  a  loving  Saviour.  The  practical  bearing 
of  these  ideas  upon  the  inner  consciousness 
and  the  outward  activities  of  men  was  im- 
mediate. Society  turned  from  the  debasing 
superstitions  of  the  past  and  from  "the  tu- 
mult of  sensual  pleasures  to  which  the  world 
was  devoted,"  and  before  three  centuries 
had  passed  there  was  presented  a  new  phase 
of  life  and  a  new  promise  of  development 
toward  good  will,  refinement,  and  noble 
enterprise. 

By  the  side  of  the  changes  which  were 
brought  about  in  the  social  and  political 
world  were  others  which  pertained  to  the 
Church.  At  first  its  structure  was  exceed- 
ingly simple  and  flexible.  As  the  centuries 
went  by  it  became  more  highly  organized 
and  more  firmly  set  in  its  forms  of  adminis- 
tration, through  changes  which  may  be 
traced  in  successive  periods.  The  develop- 
ment of  a  formal  and  elaborate  system  of 


44    THE    CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

church  government  is  not  to  be  identified 
with  the  advance  of  Christianity.  Never- 
theless it  presents  an  important  phase  of  the 
progressive  life  of  the  new  religion. 

It  all  came  about  in  the  most  natural,  one 
might  say  inevitable,  way.  For  the  sake  of 
interior  development  and  outward  extension 
the  church  was  compelled  to  take  on  a  more 
and  more  elaborate  organization.  It  fol- 
lowed the  universal  rule  of  life,  the  prevail- 
ing mode  of  evolution,  which  is  from 
simplicity  to  complexity.  The  details  of 
the  process,  as  in  so  many  other  instances, 
are  lost.  The  first  half  of  this  period  was 
apparently  not  a  literary  age,  and  small  care 
seems  to  have  been  given  to  preservation  of 
such  records  as  were  made.  Undoubtedly, 
there  were  two  demands  for  a  more  perfect 
organization  of  Christians  in  the  then  com- 
mon life.  On  the  one  hand  each  individual 
church  would  naturally  find  in  the  increase 
of  membership,  and  in  its  multiplied  rela- 
tions to  society,  need  of  officers  and  com- 
mittees; and,  on  the  other  hand,  the  various 
churches  would  naturally  come  into  corre- 
spondence with  one  another  for  mutual 
interest,  and  this  would  call  for  the  appoint- 
ment of  officials  of  a  wide  range  of  authority. 
In  this  process  of  specialization  the  clergy 


CENTURIES  OF  PERSECUTION   45 

became  a  distinct  class  set  apart  from  the 
laity;  then  from  among  the  clergy  certain 
ones  were  selected  for  superintendence  of  a 
group  of  churches.  In  this  way  the  simple 
presbyter  of  the  apostolic  church  became  a 
bishop  with  the  oversight  perhaps  of  a 
province.  Then  to  the  metropolitan  bishops 
was  conceded  more  of  influence  and  author- 
ity than  to  those  of  the  country  districts. 
The  influence  of  prevailing  methods  of  civil 
governments,  together  with  individual  am- 
bitions for  official  recognition,  brought 
about  the  evolution  of  the  archbishop. 
Finally  the  archbishops  at  a  few  great  cen- 
ters, like  Antioch,  Alexandria  and  Rome, 
became  primates  or  patriarchs. 

Before  the  second  century  closed  great 
gatherings  began  to  be  held  for  the  consider- 
ation of  practical  questions  affecting  the 
churches  everywhere,  and  there  was  an 
inevitable  demand  for  leadership;  so  the 
ecclesiastical  spirit  found  development,  and 
the  way  was  opened  for  the  ascendancy  of 
the  few,  and  finally  of  the  one.  The  Epistle 
of  Clement  96  A.  D.  has  not  a  word  about 
the  bishop  of  Rome.  The  Epistles  of 
Ignatius,  Bishop  of  Antioch,  140  A.  D.,  in- 
sist with  tedious  iteration  on  the  necessity 
of  order  in  the  churches,  to  be  secured  by 


46    THE    CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

obeying  their  own  bishops.  It  was  not  until 
about  170  A.  D.  that  record  was  made  of  the 
notion  that  St.  Peter  was  the  founder  of  the 
church  at  Rome.  Once  accepted  however, 
the  fact  was  magnified  into  importance  and 
dogmatic  significance.  The  claim  was 
maintained  that  the  primacy  of  Peter  among 
the  disciples  established  that  of  his  succes- 
sor among  the  churches.  Thus  was  secured 
supreme  authority  for  the  Bishop  of  Rome. 
Together  with  these  hierarchical  tenden- 
cies were  others  of  a  ritualistic  character.  At 
first  the  worship  of  the  Lord's  Day  had  been 
exceedingly  simple  and  spontaneous.  From 
the  Epistle  of  Clement  and  the  Teaching  of 
the  Apostles,  written  about  the  year  100,  we 
learn  that  forms  of  prayer  were  coming  into 
use,  first  in  connection  with  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per and  later  as  embodied  in  liturgies  which 
were  committed  to  memory.  The  simple 
confession  of  faith  made  at  the  baptism  of  a 
convert  was  at  this  time  expanded  into 
what  is  now  known  as  the  Apostles'  Creed, 
the  legend  of  its  composition  arising  some- 
what later.  Gradually  the  sermon  became 
developed  into  a  necessary  part  of  the  serv- 
ice, partly  as  an  outgrowth  of  the  exhorta- 
tion accompanying  the  Scripture  reading, 
and  partly  an  adaptation  of  the  homily  of 


CENTURIES  OF  PERSECUTION   47 

Grecian  philosophers.  During  this  period 
the  Christian  Festivals  were  established, 
some  of  them  doubtless  taking  the  place  of 
certain  heathen  celebrations.  Easter  was 
the  earliest  in  observance.  Epiphany,  com- 
memorating the  visit  of  the  magi,  was 
adopted  first  in  the  eastern  and  later  in  the 
western  Church  to  symbolize  the  manifesta- 
tion of  Christ  to  the  Gentiles.  Christmas, 
which  was  celebrated  at  the  winter  solstice, 
came  to  be  generally  observed  as  the  ani- 
versary  of  the  birth  of  the  Founder  of  Chris- 
tianity. 

It  is  interesting  to  see  how  in  connection 
with  this  elaboration  of  the  service  of  the 
Church  came  about  the  use  of  consecrated 
edifices.  For  the  first  two  centuries  almost 
no  special  buildings  were  used;  and  hence 
there  is  scarcely  a  reference  in  early  liter- 
ature to  the  sacredness  of  the  places  of  wor- 
ship. It  was  the  custom  to  secure  rooms 
and  halls  for  gatherings,  small  or  great  as 
the  case  might  be,  like  the  "upper  room" 
where  Christ  held  fellowship  and  conference 
with  his  disciples.  Very  general  use  was 
made  of  the  Basilica  which  was  common  in 
the  West.  It  was  the  offspring  of  the 
Roman  civilization  and  served  a  purpose  not 
unlike  that  of  our  Town-hall  or  Exchange,  a 


48    THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

place'  of  public  resort  and  official  transac- 
tions. It  contained  abroad  central  aisle  for 
the  chance  crowd,  and  two  side  aisles,  with 
inner  rows  of  columns;  one  for  the  male  and 
one  for  the  female  appellants.  At  the  end, 
which  was  semi-circular  in  form,  was  a  plat- 
form or  "tribunal"  for  the  judge.  It  came 
into  general  adoption  by  the  churches  partly 
because  it'was  to  be  found  in  all  the  centers 
of  population  and  partly  because  it  was 
adapted  to  early  habits  of  assemblage  in 
separating  the  sexes  and  in  furnishing  a 
special  place  for  the  clergy  and  the  singers. 
In  a  general  way,  too,  it  gave  expression  to 
the  popular  life  favored  by  Christianity,  in 
contrast  with  the  exclusiveness  of  both  the 
Jewish  and  the  Pagan  temples.  Thus  the 
Basilica  gradually  became  associated  with 
established  forms  of  worship;  the  solemn 
beauty  of  the  Gothic  cathedral  being  the  ex- 
pression of  the  worship  of  a  much  later  time. 
To  this  period  belongs  the  development 
of  two  great  heresies,  one  of  which  plagued 
the  churches  for  several  centuries.  The 
first  of  these  is  covered  by  the  general  term 
Gnosticism,  the  other  being  known  as 
Ebionism.  The  Founder  of  Christianity 
had  declared  that  it  must  needs  be  that 
offences    come.      And    come    they   did    in 


CENTURIES  OP  PERSECUTION  49 

many  an  obstacle  which  the  new  religion 
had  to  surmount,  and  in  a  menacing  form 
they  came  in  these  two  great  schemes  of 
thought  which  arising  from  a  vigorous 
and  self-asserting  intellectualism  sought  to 
either  absorb  or  overthrow  Christianity. 
Indeed  there  were  three  distinct  sources  of 
religious  philosophy  with  which  Christianity 
was  compelled  to  have  a  reckoning  in  the 
early  centuries.  One  was  characteristically 
oriental,  the  second  was  Grecian,  and  the 
third  a  composite  of  Hellenism  and  Judaism, 
developed  in  the  school  of  Alexandria. 

The  genius  of  Gnosticism  was  pride  of 
knowledge,  and  the  boast  of  its  devotee  was 
that  in  the  profundity  and  breadth  of  his 
thinking  he  held  the  solution  of  all  the 
problems  of  the  universe  including  that  of 
the  redemption  of  mankind.  The  germ  of 
this  self  exalting  Gnosticism  appeared  in 
the  Church  as  early  as  the  time  when  St. 
Paul  wrote  to  the  Colossians  warning  them 
against  a  "show  of  wisdom"  which  lay  in 
philosophy  and  vain  deceit,  and  which  was 
really  "after  the  traditions  of  men  and  the 
rudiments  of  the  world."  It  developed  into 
various  schools  which  need  not  here  be  de- 
scribed; but  in  a  general  way  it  may  be  said 
to  have  been  given  to  fanciful  speculations 


50    THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

both  Pantheistic  and  Dualistic.  It  patron- 
ized Christianity  as  a  source  of  knowledge, 
but  treated  the  writings  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment in  the  most  captious  and  arbitrary 
fashion.  Its  advocates  held  that  Christ  was 
a  mere  man,  but  was  at  the  same  time  the 
mask  for  a  higher  being,  the  heavenly 
Christ,  who  acted  through  him.  They  ac- 
cepted the  idea  of  redemption  which  they 
found  suggested  in  the  Gospels,  but  made  it 
consist  in  the  liberation  of  the  psychical  na- 
ture from  the  entanglement  of  matter,  which 
they  looked  upon  as  essentially  evil. 

That  branch  of  the  Gnostic  school  known 
as  Manichaeism,  to  which  Augustine  be- 
longed before  his  conversion,  was  perhaps 
the  most  prominent  and  persistent.  There 
was  in  it  only  the  slightest  infusion  of  Chris- 
tianity. Its  adherents  held  that  the  universe 
was  divided  into  the  kingdom  of  light  and 
the  kingdom  of  darkness;  that  in  human 
nature  these  two  elements  are  mingled  by 
the  evil  work  of  Satan;  and  that  the  spirits 
of  light  who  work  for  the  redemption  of  the 
world  have  their  abode  in  the  sun.  The 
sect  was  thoroughly  organized.  It  spread 
throughout  the  East  and  into  the  Western 
Empire,  and  lingered  on  into  the  middle 
ages. 


CENTURIES  OF  PERSECUTION   51 

The  Ebionites  probably  had  their  origin 
in  a  company  of  Jewish  Christians  who  were 
first  gathered  in  a  town  east  of  the  Jordan. 
Their  name,  which  signifies  "the  poor," 
may  have  been  given  them  in  contempt  for 
their  condition,  or  it  may  have  been  self- 
assumed  to  show  their  acceptance  of  the  sup- 
posed standard  of  Christianity  in  the 
primitive  Church.  They  incorporated  into 
their  system  much  that  was  Christian,  but 
corrupted  it  in  their  obstinate  devotion  to 
the  peculiarities  of  the  Jewish  religion. 
They  held  to  the  old  covenant,  exalted  legal 
righteousness,  denied  the  unique  birth  of 
Christ,  conceded  that  the  present  world  be- 
longs to  the  devil,  and  maintained  the  value 
of  asceticism.  Their  perversion  of  Chris- 
tian teaching,  however,  disturbed  only  the 
Church  in  Syria.  As  a  distinct  sect  they  do 
not  belong  to  a  later  date  than  the  third 
century. 

Among  all  these  speculative  and  philo- 
sophical systems,  sometimes  dangerously 
hostile  and  sometimes  far  more  dangerously 
friendly  to  Christianity,  the  Church  held 
firmly  to  her  own  way,  magnifying  the  great 
facts  and  the  pure  life  of  the  Gospel,  and 
refusing  to  be  either  absorbed  or  annihi- 
lated. 


52    THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

It  was  in  meeting  those  perilous  philoso- 
phies and  other  inimical  influences  that 
Christianity  developed  much  of  the  liter- 
ature which  has  survived  to  modern  times. 
To  the  second  century  belongs  the  priceless 
work  of  collecting  and  preserving  the  apos- 
tolic writings.  The  earliest  Gospels  were 
oral,  for  at  first  these  sacred  writings  were 
not  considered  essential  to  the  life  of  the 
churches.  One  after  another  the  four 
"memoirs"  of  the  life  of  Christ  were  put 
into  written  form.  The  various  epistles 
were  all  occasional,  having  been  called  out 
by  the  exigencies  of  churches  scattered  all 
the  way  from  the  extreme  East  to  the  ex- 
treme West,  and  were  cherished  for  a  time 
only  in  the  particular  churches  to  which 
they  had  been  addressed.  By  the  begin- 
ning of  the  second  century  various  manu- 
scripts were  in  circulation  which  could  with 
difficulty  be  distinguished  from  genuine 
apostolic  writings.  Out  of  this  condition 
arose  the  necessity  of  sifting  out  and  pre- 
serving the  documents  which  had  come  from 
authoritative  sources.  The  process  was 
gradual  by  which  the  results  were  gained 
which  have  endured  the  test  of  time.  At 
the  end  of  this  period  no  fewer  than  five 
books  now  in  the  Canon,  viz.,  James,  Second 


CENTURIES  OP  PERSECUTION   53 

Peter,  Second  and  Third  John,  and  Revela- 
tion, were  named  by  Eusebius  as  "antile- 
gomena,"  that  is,  spoken  against;  and  for  a 
number  of  decades  certain  other  writings 
were  held  to  be  of  doubtful  authority. 

Not  much  of  the  literature  of  the  second 
century  is  extant.  Probably  literary  pro- 
ductions were  not  numerous,  and  many  that 
lived  for  a  time  have  perished  through  mul- 
tiplied vicissitudes.  Among  the  most 
interesting  and  valuable  of  these  that  survive 
may  be  named  the  Epistle  of  Clement,  sent 
to  the  Corinthian  Church  from  Rome  about 
96  A.  D.,  to  pacify  certain  contentions 
there;  the  "Teachings  of  the  Twelve  Apos- 
tles," discovered  in  1875,  which  is  one  of 
the  earliest  writings  after  the  days  of  the 
apostles,  having  been  probably  constructed 
at  the  close  of  the  first  century.  It  is  a 
manual  of  instructions  for  catechumens,  and 
gives  rules  for  the  reception  of  different 
classes,  with  regulations  for  worship  and 
discipline,  together  with  practical  instruc- 
tion as  to  Christian  conduct. 

"The  Epistle  to  Diognetus"  is  considered 
the  gem  of  these  early  productions.  It  is 
poor  and  spiritless  in  style,  but  wide  in  its 
scope  of  doctrine;  showing  the  worthless- 
ness  of  idolatry,  and  exposing  the  defective- 


54    THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

ness  of  Jewish  worship  and  customs.  At 
about  the  same  date,  not  far  from  the  mid- 
dle of  the  second  century,  was  sent  forth  the 
Epistle  to  the  Philippians,  by  Polycarp,  who 
in  youth  sat  at  the  feet  of  the  apostle  John, 
and  in  his  old  age  gave  testimony  to  his 
Christian  faith  by  martyrdom. 

A  little  later  than  this  Aristides  wrote  the 
first  of  a  long  series  of  "Apologies,"  called 
out  by  misunderstandings  of  the  spirit  and 
teachings  of  Christianity.  Some  were  ad- 
dressed to  Emperors  and  some  were  de- 
signed to  influence  the  people  whose 
opposition  had  grown  out  of  ignorance  and 
bitter  prejudice.  The  best  known  of  these 
is  by  Justin  Martyr.  His  personal  history 
is  exceedingly  interesting  and  shows  a 
providential  training  for  the  defense  of 
Christianity.  Probably  of  Greek  extraction, 
he  spent  the  years  of  opening  manhood  first 
as  a  Stoic,  then  as  a  Pythagorean,  and  then 
as  a  Platonist,  in  earnest  but  vain  search  for 
the  truth  about  God.  At  last  he  was  con- 
verted to  Christianity  by  conversation  with 
a  venerable  disciple  with  whom  he  strolled 
by  the  seashore.  One  of  his  apologies  was 
addressed  to  Antoninus  Pius,  another  as 
vainly  to  the  Roman  Senate. 

Some  of  the  ablest  writings  of  the  second 


CENTURIES  OF  PERSECUTION   55 

and  third  centuries  were  by  members  of  the 
famous  catechetical  school  of  Alexandria. 
*^Many  influences  had  combined  to  make  this 
school  a  center  of  learning  and  philosophy. 
Within  it  was  developed  what  we  should 
call  a  Theological  Seminary,  for  the  discus- 
sion of  abstruse  points  of  divinity.  The 
name  of  Flavins  Clement,  one  of  the  leaders 
in  Christian  thought,  has  come  down  to  us 
under  the  title  of  "Clement  of  Alexandria." 
He  was  a  man  of  broad  culture  and  catholic 
temper,  an  extensive  traveler  and  a  pro- 
found student  of  philosophy  and  the  ancient 
classics.  Origen  who  followed  him,  and 
who  won  an  even  higher  place  in  that  illus- 
trious group  of  thinkers,  was  a  man  of 
herculean  labors  and  a  pioneer  in  the  mazes 
of  "Systematic  Theology."  As  an  ex- 
pounder of  Scripture  he  favored  an  unpro- 
ductive and  misleading  method  of  allegoriz- 
ing sacred  history;  yet  his  work  was  of  the 
greatest  value  in  defense  of  Christianity, 
especially  against  the  shrewd  and  scholarly 
opponent,  Celsus. 

In  the  North  African  Church  was  Tertul- 
lian,  born  about  160,  highly  educated  in 
poetry,  philosophy  and  the  science  of  the 
day  and  trained  to  the  law.  He  was  con- 
verted when  thirty  years   of   age,   and   be- 


56    THE    CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

came  a  most  eminent  and  prolific  writer. 
Belonging  to  the  Western  Church  also  was 
Irenaus,  who  became  bishop  of  Lyons. 
His  birthplace  was  in  the  East,  where  in 
youth  he  was  a  disciple  of  the  aged  Poly- 
carp,  but  in  later  years  he  drifted  westward, 
and  from  his  Gallic  bishopric  sent  out  elab- 
orate confutations  of  the  various  heresies 
which  were  disturbing  the  Church. 

At  the  beginning  of  this  period  the  weap- 
ons of  literature  were  in  hostile  hands,  but 
before  its  close  the  Church  had  brought  into 
its  service  all  kinds  of  composition  known 
to  paganism,  and  had  given  abundant 
demonstrations  of  a  faith  which  dared  to 
assert  itself  against  every  form  of  philosophy 
and  religion  known  to  the  world. 

We  are  now  prepared  to  trace  the  devious 
but  upward  course  by  which  the  Christian 
Church  passed  through  the  ignominy  and 
suffering  of  two  centuries  of  persecution  to 
final  safety  and  eminence  through  the  con- 
version of  a  Roman  emperor. 

The  persecutions  of  the  early  Church  had 
three  sources.  The  smaller  number  orig- 
inated in  the  sheer  cruelty  of  monsters  like 
Nero  and  Domitian,  who  vented  their  bru- 
tish passions  upon  an  unoffending  people. 
A  much  larger  class  were  the  more  or  less 


CENTURIES  OF  PERSECUTION    57 

direct  result  of  popular  alarm  and  hatred. 
This  was  the  cause  of  the  outbreak  under 
Trajan.  Although  not  formally  recognized 
by  the  authorities  as  the  ground  of  hostile 
attack  upon  Christians,  yet  this  aversion  of 
the  populace  was  often  behind  the  un- 
friendly treatment  of  the  new  religion.  It 
is  difficult  for  one  who  knows  only  the 
beneficence  of  Christianity  to  understand 
why  in  any  age  there  should  have  been  rage 
and  bitterness  against  the  adherents  of  the 
Nazarene.  But  in  the  early  centuries  each 
class  of  citizens  found  a  reason  for  its 
antipathy.  The  high-born  Roman,  the 
haughtiest  aristocrat  the  world  has  seen,  had 
less  of  hatred  than  of  disgust  and  contempt. 
To  him  the  idea  of  making  artisans  and  even 
slaves  sharers  with  him  in  the  brotherhood 
of  Christ,  in  common  humanity  and  dignity 
of  life,  was  extremely  distasteful.  The  de- 
mand for  tender  interest  in  the  common  ranks 
of  men  was  most  repulsive  to  the  Stoic,  for 
he  was  educated  in  the  pride  of  philosophy 
and  personal  achievement.  His  life-long 
effort  had  been  to  lift  himself  above  the 
level  of  the  masses.  To  give  them  sweet 
fellowship  on  any  basis  seemed  to  him  the 
annihilation  of  all  the  ideals  he  had  learned 
to    cherish.       Such    writers    as    Pliny   and 


58    THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

Tacitus  scarcely  considered  the  new  "super- 
stition" worthy  of  more  than  a  passing 
allusion. 

The  claim  of  Christianity  to  give  men 
ultimate  truth  concerning  the  great  things 
of  life  was  to  others  a  grave  offence.  The 
possession  of  assured  verity,  as  against  all 
the  speculations  and  elaborate  reasoning  of 
their  own  philosophers,  was  a  senseless  and 
irritating  claim.  Still  others  felt  that  the 
new  religion  was  in  conflict  with  the  rever- 
ence due  to  their  ancestors.  They  said,  "Is 
not  the  tradition  of  the  fathers  the  most 
venerable  and  best  guide  to  truth?  Let  us 
follow  the  religion  which  they  have  handed 
down,  let  us  adore  the  gods  whom  from 
childhood  we  have  been  trained  to  fear." 

To  very  many  people  in  the  Empire, 
Christianity  was  not  a  religion  at  all,  but 
sheer  atheism.  It  had  no  offerings  or  liba- 
tions, it  had  none  of  the  paraphernalia  of 
either  the  Jewish  or  pagan  religion,  hence 
the  very  simplicity  and  purity  of  its  worship 
misled  the  undiscerning  multitudes.  More 
than  this,  there  were  put  into  circulation 
stories  which,  growing  by  repetition,  tended 
to  excite  horror  and  fury.  These  were  of 
course  wicked  and  groundless  scandals,  and 
yet    they    were     widely    accepted.       They 


CENTURIES  OF  PERSECUTION   59 

hinted  at  human  sacrifice,  at  horrid  rites  and 
oaths,  and  wildest  orgies.  When,  there- 
fore. Christians  refused  to  join  in  the 
heathen  games  they  were  denounced  as 
gloomy,  morose,  and  unsocial,  and  as  quite 
capable  of  all  the  enormities  charged  against 
them. 

A  third  source  of  persecution,  and  the 
most  fruitful  and  persistent  of  all,  was  the 
supposed  political  necessities  of  the  state. 
This  reason  operated  in  the  minds  of  em- 
perors who  were  sincerely  anxious  for  the 
good  of  the  Empire.  On  the  part  of  Chris- 
tians it  was  unavoidable  that  offence  of  this 
sort  should  be  given.  All  public  life  was 
interwoven  with  heathenism,  and  as  Chris- 
tians withdrew  from  it  they  inevitably  ran 
counter  to  the  apparent  interests  of  the 
state.  They  avoided  military  service 
because  the  army  was  compelled  to  sacrifice 
to  the  gods  and  consult  the  auspices;  and 
for  the  same  reason  they  held  back  from 
public  office.  This  brought  upon  them  the 
charge  of  disloyalty  and  lack  of  patriotism, 
a  charge  which  seemed  to  be  supported  by 
the  very  nature  of  their  faith.  Other  reli- 
gions were  national  and  exclusive,  but 
Christianity  was  universal  and  inclusive. 
When  Christians  were  seen  accepting  con- 


6o    THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

verted  barbarians  as  brethren  the  charge  was 
bitterly  made,  "You  are  not  Romans  at  all, 
you  are  enemies  of  the  state!"  At  critical 
times  there  were  special  demands  for  the  sal- 
utation of  the  Emperor  with  divine  honors; 
and  when  this  was  of  necessity  absolutely  re- 
fused by  Christians  their  religion  became  a 
political  crime  and  brought  them  into 
flagrant  defiance  of  the  laws  of  the  Empire. 
All  this  caused  serious  apprehension  on  the 
part  of  patriotic  rulers.  To  them  it  was 
simply  rebellion  against  the  established 
order  of  things,  and  they  were  not  far- 
sighted  enough  to  measure  the  wholesome 
possibilities  of  this  new  regenerating 
power. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  note  all  of  the  per- 
secutions through  which  the  church  passed 
in  the  first  three  centuries,  but  some  of  the 
more  conspicuous  of  them  will  suggest  the 
whole  story. 

The  first  occurred  scarcely  three  decades 
after  Pentecost.  It  brings  to  mind  one  of 
the  unsettled  questions  of  history.  Under 
the  reign  of  Nero  there  happened  to  be  a 
conflagration  which  swept  through  whole 
sections  of  the  capital.  The  suspicion  of 
the  people  rested  upon  the  Emperor  as  the 
guilty  originator  of  a  catastrophe  over  which 


CENTURIES  OF  PERSECUTION   6i 

he  gloated,  and  in  which  he  found  a  fresh 
sensation  for  his  jaded  sensibilities,  and  a 
new  outlet  for  his  Satanic  cruelty.  In  their 
rage  the  people  demanded  a  victim,  and 
Tacitus  is  authority  for  the  statement  that 
Nero  falsely  accused  the  Christians  of  the 
crime.  At  any  rate  there  followed  a  very 
carnival  of  blood  in  Rome.  Most  ingenious 
methods  of  torture  and  death  were  devised. 
Christians  were  tarred  and  burned  at  night 
to  satisfy  the  cruelty  of  the  populace  and 
to  delight  the  still  more  inhuman  Emperor. 
There  is  no  evidence,  however,  that  the  per- 
secution broke  out  elsewhere  than  at  Rome. 
The  reign  of  Trajan  a  half-century  later 
became  a  significant  landmark  in  the  history 
of  the  Church,  because  his  rule  for  "accusa- 
tion and  punishment"  held  with  slight 
modifications  for  nearly  two  centuries.  It 
all  came  about  in  this  way:  his  friend  and 
official  representative  in  the  province  of 
Bithynia,  the  younger  Pliny,  reported  by 
letter  the  progress  of  the  "superstition," 
and  the  consequent  neglect  of  the  heathen 
temples,  and  asked  for  instructions.  Trajan 
replied:  "Let  them  alone  unless  you  are 
compelled  to  take  note  of  the  matter  by 
reason  of  personal  and  public  accusation, 
then  compel   these  Christians  to  recognize 


62    THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

the  gods  or  be  punished."  This,  in  the 
year  ill,  marks  the  time  when  by  formal 
decree  Christianity  became  illegal,  although 
it  was  not  strictly  by  a  new  statute,  but 
rather  by  an  "injunction  to  enforce  existing 
laws.  It  sufficed,  however,  to  define  the 
attitude  of  the  state  and  to  furnish  ground 
for  rigorous  administration  of  the  law. 

It  is  not  probable  that  Trajan  designed  the 
infliction  of  injustice  and  cruelty,  but  he 
furnished  easy  ground  for  hostile  action  on 
the  part  of  men  unfriendly  to  the  new  reli- 
gion. Under  priestly  instigation  an  accuser 
had  only  to  make  a  formal  charge  against  a 
Christian.  The  magistrate  would  then  cause 
the  images  of  the  gods  and  the  Emperor  to 
be  brought  in,  and  command  the  accused  to 
sacrifice  to  them  with  incense,  and  curse  the 
name  of  Christ;  which,  of  course,  no  real 
Christian  would  do.  The  application  of  this 
test  brought  no  wholesale  slaughter;  yet  it 
made  the  situation  of  every  Christian  fam- 
ily one  of  peril  and  apprehension.  A  bit  of 
malice  on  the  part  of  any  heathen  might  at 
any  moment  bring  disaster. 

The  succeeding  Emperor,  Hadrian,  whose 
reign  extended  from  117  to  138,  was 
versatile  and  cultivated,  fond  of  literature, 
art  and  of  travel.     Toward  the  end  of  his 


CENTURIES  OF  PERSECUTION   63 

reign  he  became  moody  and  at  times  even 
cruel.  He  was  a  strong  adherent  of  the  old 
religion  and  the  builder  of  many  costly 
temples;  yet  holding  to  the  promise  of  his 
predecessor,  he  refused  to  give  way  to  gen- 
eral complaints  and  outcries  against  Chris- 
tians, and  insisted  that  they  should  be 
persecuted  only  on  personal  and  definite 
charges. 

We  may  pass  over  the  reigns  which  fol- 
lowed as  being  without  special  significance 
to  the  church.  At  length  we  come  to  Mar- 
cus Aurelius,  whose  score  of  years  fall  be- 
tween 161  and  180.  His  personal  history 
and  lofty  character  are  of  fascinating  inter- 
est, but  his  reign  brought  to  the  church  the 
severest  strain  to  which  it  had  yet  been 
subjected.  For  this  persecution  there  were 
two  causes.  On  the  one  hand  the  excep- 
tional patriotism  and  energy  of  the  Emperor 
led  him  to  protect  the  ancient  religion  and 
to  revive  enthusiasm  for  the  state,  and,  on 
the  other,  a  combination  of  disasters  aroused 
the  fanatical  hatred  and  fear  of  the  people 
against  the  new  religion.  These  calamities 
were  reported  from  every  side  of  the  Em- 
pire. An  army  sent  against  the  Parthians 
came  back  with  the  plague,  which  traversed 
the  entire  Empire  and  from  which  it  never 


64    THE   CHRISTIAN    CENTURIES 

recovered.  Then  followed  a  terrible 
famine;  and  after  the  pestilence  and  famine 
various  outbreaks  on  the  frontier.  Of  these 
that  along  the  Danube  was  one  of  the  sever- 
est Rome  ever  had  to  encounter;  for  then  it 
was  that  her  legions  met  the  first  waves  of 
the  migration  which  was  destined  at  last  to 
sweep  over  the  entire  West.  The  populace 
became  I  infuriated  against  the  Christians 
whose  impiety  was  supposed  to  have  brought 
upon  the  state  the  wrath  of  the  gods. 

The  reprieve  of  the  church  from  persecu- 
tion came  through  a  far  less  worthy  emperor. 
Commodus,  "the  ignoble  son  of  a  noble 
father,"  failed  to  persecute  Christians 
through  sheer  indifference  to  affairs  of  state. 
Then  followed  for  scores  of  years  a  succes- 
sion of  emperors,  for  the  most  part  made 
and  unmade  by  the  army,  who  seldom  cared 
enough  about  the  matter  to  indulge  in  active 
hostility  to  the  new  faith.  It  was  not  until 
the  middle  of  the  third  century,  when 
Christians  had  so  mutliplied  that  Origen  for 
the  first  time  expressed  the  belief  that  the 
Gospel,  by  its  inherent  power  and  without 
the  intervention  of  a  miracle,  would  sup- 
plant the  ancient  religions,  that  the  pros- 
perity of  the  church  again  enkindled  the 
animosity  of  its  opposers. 


CENTURIES  OP  PERSECUTION   65 

Decius,  whose  brief  reign  extended  from 
249  to  251,  determined  to  extirpate  Chris- 
tianity and  restore  the  unity  and  integrity 
of  the  Empire.  A  revival  of  the  policy  of 
Marcus  Aurelius  by  a  like-minded  patriot 
took  place,  and  a  systematic  attempt  was 
made  throughout  the  provinces  to  compel 
Christians  to  renounce  their  religion  and 
swear  allegiance  to  that  of  the  Empire.  It 
was  a  fiery  trial  of  the  faith  and  endurance 
of  the  church;  but  fortunately  the  terrible 
reign  of  Decius  was  brief  and  out  of  its  hor- 
rors came  the  purified  and  steadfast  rem- 
nants of  the  Lord's  hosts. 

Then  followed,  save  for  the  administra- 
tion of  the  Decian  policy  by  Emperor 
Valerian,  forty  years  of  almost  unbroken 
rest,  giving  time  for  more  careful  organiza- 
tion and  discipline,  and  preparing  the 
church  at  large  for  its  final  encounter  with 
the  forces  of  heathenism. 

The  last  and  most  awful  persecution  oc- 
curred during  the  reign  of  Diocletian,  284- 
305,  whose  attitude  toward  Christianity  was 
unhappily  changed  during  the  later  years  of 
his  life.  Talented,  patriotic,  zealous,  and, 
at  first,  not  wholly  unfriendly  to  Christian- 
ity, his  administration  gave  promise  of 
better  things  than  finally  fell  to  his  record. 


66    THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

By  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  century 
Christianity  had  gained  not  only  in  extent 
but  in  standing,  and  not  a  few  adherents 
were  high  at  court  and  trusted  advisers  of  the 
Emperor,  while  his  wife  and  daughter  were 
actual  disciples  of  the  Christ.  But  Christian- 
ity was  not  to  win  its  final  triumph  too  easily. 
There  was  a  party  at  court  composed  of 
heathen  priests,  who  regarded  the  advance- 
ment of  Christians  with  the  greatest  dis- 
favor, and  who  shrewdly  and  persistently 
influenced  the  mind  of  the  Emperor  in  favor 
of  the  ancient  rites,  whose  enforcement 
would  enhance  their  standing  in  affairs  of 
state.  Many  years  went  by  without  mani- 
fest effect  upon  the  imperial  mind,  until 
about  303,  when,  through  the  enfeeblement 
and  indecision  of  age,  the  Emperor  was  in- 
duced to  submit  the  question  of  policy  to  a 
council  in  which  Galerius,  his  son-in-law, 
who  inclined  toward  heathen  fanaticism,  was 
influential.  Under  the  tremendous  pressure 
now  brought  to  bear  upon  him  Diocletian 
finally  decided  to  consult  an  oracle.  The 
word  of  the  oracle,  controlled  by  heathen 
priests,  could  not  be  doubtful.  Christianity 
was  to  be  checked.  The  Emperor  yielded 
on  the  assurance  given  him  by  his  council- 
lors that  it  would  not  be  necessary  to  shed 


CENTURIES  OF  PERSECUTION   67 

any  blood,  as  Christians  would  recant  upon 
the  first  show  of  severity. 

Thus  the  floodgates  of  an  awful  persecu- 
tion were  opened  wide.  The  fanatical  party 
had  fiercely  determined  to  spare  no  meas- 
ures looking  toward  the  actual  extirpation 
of  Christianity.  At  first  intimidation  was 
relied  upon,  but  when  the  persecutors  were 
met  by  heroism  they  proceeded  to  cruelest 
extremes  of  torture.  Successive  edicts  were 
more  and  more  sweeping  and  exacting. 
Everywhere  went  the  dread  demand,  "Sacri- 
fice to  the  gods  or  die,"  and  a  reign  of  terror 
prevailed  far  and  wide. 

The  worst  never  actually  happens,  and  in 
305  the  Emperor,  discouraged  and  broken, 
was  forced  to  resign.  Galerius  succeeded 
him  at  the  head  of  affairs  in  the  East,  but  in 
the  West  his  rivals  were  in  the  ascendancy, 
and  there  persecutions  were  soon  at  an  end. 
In  the  East  the  horrid  work  went  on  for 
some  years,  making  a  record  of  sickening 
details  of  tortures  and  indignities,  but  the 
fires  of  persecution  finally  burned  themselves 
out.  Brute  force  could  not  accomplish  its 
end  against  the  steadfastness  and  heroism  of 
the  Christian  faith,  and  even  executioners 
became  weary  and  disgusted  with  their  in- 
human work. 


68    THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

The  spell  of  the  cross  was  upon  heathen- 
dom. Oppression  and  cruelty  had  wrought 
their  utmost,  and  the  triumph  of  a  pure  and 
gentle  religion  was  now  not  far  away.  From 
his  death-bed,  to  which  he  had  come  from  a 
life  of  debauchery  and  fanaticism,  Galerius, 
in  untold  agony  of  body  and  mind,  issued 
in  the  year  311  an  edict  which  reversed  the 
policy  of  two  centuries  and  put  an  end  to 
official  persecution.  It  was  a  plain  confes- 
sion of  the  impotency  of  heathenism,  and 
closed  with  a  request  for  the  prayers  of 
Christians  for  the  Emperor  and  the  state! 
This  was  not  a  complete  and  positive  vic- 
tory for  Christianity  but  that  was  close  at 
hand.  The  man  had  already  come  on  the 
stage  who  was  to  distinguish  himself  by  the 
great  historical  act  of  adopting  by  imperial 
edict  as  the  religion  of  the  state  the  despised 
and  persecuted  faith  of  the  Nazarene. 

By  far  the  most  significant  event  in  the 
history  of  the  fourth  century  was  the  con- 
version of  a  Roman  Emperor  to  Christianity. 
For  good  or  ill  it  changed  the  status  of  the 
new  religion  in  the  world.  After  resting  for 
more  than  two  centuries  under  the  ban  of 
the  Empire,  Christianity  found  itself  sud- 
denly protected  and  fostered  by  royal  favor. 

Constantine,  the  first  Christian  emperor, 


CENTURIES  OF  PERSECUTION  69 

was  born  in  274  of  Constantius  Chlorus  and 
Helena,  a  woman  of  obscure  birth  but  strong 
character,  who  became  a  convert  to  the  new 
faith  and  exerted  much  influence  over  her 
son.  He  grew  up  to  manhood  imposing  in 
presence,  sagacious  in  counsel  and  of  ex- 
traordinary administrative  ability.  He  was 
from  youth  trained  to  military  service,  and 
was  highly  developed  in  valor  and  skill  as 
a  soldier.  This  was  most  fortunate  for  him, 
because  in  the  great  crisis  of  his  struggle  for 
supremacy  he  had  need  of  every  resource  at 
his  command. 

The  situation  was  this.  At  the  death  of 
Galerius  four  rulers  appeared  in  the  field, 
each  governing  a  separate  territory  and 
each  preparing  for  inevitable  war  with  his 
rivals.  Constantine,  succeeding  to  the 
claims  of  his  father,  precipitated  the  con- 
test in  the  West.  Maxentius,  his  nearest 
enemy,  held  North  Africa  and  Italy.  Con- 
stantine promptly  crossed  the  Alps  with 
40,000  men  against  the  125,000  of  his  op- 
ponent. It  was  an  adventure  of  great  dar- 
ing, and  he  felt  the  solemnity  of  his 
undertaking.  It  was  under  pressure  of  such 
circumstances  that  he  sought  supernatural 
aid.  But  to  which  god  should  he  turn?  In 
the  hour  of  mental  conflict  and  disturbance 


70    THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

he  beheld  on  the  sky  above  the  sinking  sun 
the  emblazoned  cross,  and  read  these  words: 
"By  this  sign  you  conquer  "  A  vision  of 
the  night  made  the  meaning  even  more 
clear,  and  his  decision  more  emphatic.  He 
set  the  sign  of  the  cross  on  his  helmet,  and 
upon  the  banner  of  his  army,  and  caused 
his  soldiers  to  paint  it  on  their  shields. 
Under  the  talismanic  power  of  this  once 
despised  emblem  the  army  marched  from 
victory  to  victory  until  in  the  fierce  battle  of 
Milvian  Bridge  the  forces  of  his  rival  were 
completely  broken,  and  Constantine  entered 
Rome  in  triumph. 

In  the  East,  Licinius  triumphed  over 
Maximus  and  turned  to  settle  the  final  issue 
with  the  conqueror  of  the  West.  In  323  he 
was  forced  to  yield  to  Constantine,  who 
henceforth  became  the  sole  master  of  the 
Roman  world,  and  issued  edicts  establish- 
ing unrestricted  liberty  in  religious  matters 
on  the  ground  of  the  sacred  right  of  con- 
science. 

Two  problems  are  still  tantalizing  the  stu- 
dent who  seeks  absolute  conviction  concern- 
ing such  weighty  crises.  One  question 
concerns  the  motives  of  the  Emperor,  who 
has  been  both  lauded  to  the  skies  and  buried 
beneath  the  contempt  of  historians.     How 


CENTURIES  OF  PERSECUTION   71 

far  was  he  genuine,  and  how  far  shrewd  and 
calculating?  Perhaps  the  solution  of  the 
enigma  lies  in  the  statement  that  he  was 
neither  wholly  good  nor  wholly  bad.  There 
was  in  the  training  of  this  youth  a  mixture  of 
heathen  superstition  and  of  an  imperfectly 
conceived  Christianity.  It  is  extremely 
doubtful  if  he  had  any  profound  moral  and 
religious  experience;  and  it  is  not  at  all  un- 
likely that  he  shrewdly  read  in  the  history 
of  the  steady  development  of  Christianity 
against  all  opposition  hints  of  the  way  to 
future  aggrandizement.  He  certainly  was 
not  a  hypocrite,  and  almost  as  certainly  not 
a  saint.  He  may  at  first  have  acted  from 
diplomatic  motives,  but  later,  under  the  in- 
fluences of  Christianity,  may  have  been 
drawn  further  and  further  from  heathenism 
and  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  heart  of  the 
pure  religion. 

The  other  question  is  far-reaching  and 
possibly  beyond  confident  solution.  It  may 
thus  be  stated:  Was  it  on  the  whole  and  in 
the  final  issue  an  advantage  to  Christianity 
to  have  been  recognized  as  the  religion  of 
the  state?  Its  immediate  interests  were  now 
the  care  of  the  Emperor  who  permitted  only 
Christian  worship  in  the  new  capital  of  the 
Empire,   and  who   used  his  personal   influ- 


72    THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

ence  by  various  expedients  to  gain  converts. 
That  there  were  vast  accessions  to  the 
church  is  a  matter  of  course;  and,  what  is  of 
more  importance,  there  was  entire  freedom 
from  the  distress  of  earlier  days.  But  as 
has  been  said,  "Imperial  favor  in  place  of 
imperial  hostility  became  a  new  source  of 
peril."  It  is  true  that,  "Rome,  the  con- 
queror of  the  world,  was  herself  overcome 
by  a  band  of  Christian  disciples  whose  meek 
but  dauntless  courage  was  more  than  a 
match  for  all  her  power";  but  it  is  also  true 
that  the  heroic  age  of  the  Church  had 
passed,  and  that  the  task  of  molding  the 
moral  life  of  the  world  was  suddenly  thrust 
upon  a  Christianity  which  had  now  become 
dominant  in  society  and  government;  and 
that  long  centuries  were  to  elapse  before  its 
completion. 


CHAPTER   III 

THE  FALL  OF  THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE 

The  first  period  closed  with  the  passing  of 
the  specially  qualified  founders  of  the 
Church.  At  the  beginning  of  that  which 
followed  there  were  no  indications  which 
the  world  could  recognize  of  the  ultimate 
ascendancy  of  Christianity,  but  before  its 
close  it  saw  the  conversion  of  a  Roman 
emperor  and  became  almost  too  ready  to 
hail  the  new  religion  as  the  dominant  power 
and  to  seek  the  manifest  advantages  offered 
to  its  adherents. 

The  third  period  to  which  we  now  come, 
extending  over  nearly  five  hundred  years, 
covers  transformations  in  the  political  world 
most  intimately  related  to  the  welfare  of 
Christianity,  and  culminates  in  the  crown- 
ing, in  a  great  cathedral,  of  a  mightier  em- 
peror than  Constantine.  All  the  changes  of 
this  half-millennium,  both  external  and  in- 
ternal, political,  social  and  ecclesiastical, 
have  the  greatest  significance.  In  the  year 
325,  in  which  the  previous  cycle  closed,  the 
Roman  Empire  was  still  intact,  though  its 
73 


74    THE   CHRISTIAN    CENTURIES 

integrity  had  been  sharply  attacked,  and  its 
perilous  weakness  fully  demonstrated.  It 
was  destined  to  hold  together,  with  more  or 
less  consistency,  for  a  few  centuries;  but  at 
the  end  of  this  period  the  last  vestige  of  it 
disappeared  and  imperial  claims  were  made 
by  an  emperor  of  a  different  race,  and  from 
a  new  capital. 

To  follow  intelligently  the  story  of  the 
chances  and  changes  which  came  to  the 
Christian  Church,  it  will  be  well  to  divide 
the  period  into  three  distinct  parts.  Only 
thus  can  we  avoid  confusion  among  crowded 
historical  details  and  obtain  a  clear  and 
helpful  impression  of  the  course  of  events 
and  the  tasks,  difficulties,  and  accomplish- 
ments of  Christianity  in  a  time  of  repeated 
convulsions  throughout  the  civilized  world. 

I.    CHRISTIANITY  UNDER   THE   DECAYING 
ROMAN   EMPIRE 

The  emperors  differed  widely  from  one 
another  in  their  attitude  toward  Christianity, 
and  in  their  influence  upon  its  development. 
Constantine  to  the  last  maintained  friendly 
relations  with  the  religion  of  his  adoption; 
too  close,  perhaps,  for  its  best  good,  for  it 
reaches  its  highest  development  when  assert- 


FALL  OF  THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE   75 

ing  its  freedom  from  the  direct  control  of 
the  state.  He  was  bound  to  make  the  im- 
perial power  felt  in  shaping  both  the  doc- 
trine and  polity  of  the  Church.  He  may 
have  been  absolutely  sincere  in  his  rever- 
ence for  Christianity  and  in  the  belief  that 
he  was  providentially  called  to  foster  it  in 
an  age  of  difficulty  and  danger;  and  yet  the 
modifications  in  the  type  of  character  and  in 
the  quality  of  devotion  which  under  his 
patronage  began  to  manifest  themselves 
within  the  membership  of  the  Church  were 
not  of  good  augury  for  the  future. 

Constantine  died  in  337,  a  dozen  years 
after  his  accession  to  power  as  sole  emperor, 
leaving  the  empire,  as  did  Marcus  Aurelius, 
to  unworthy  sons.  There  were  the  usual 
unfraternal  quarrels  about  the  division  of 
the  Empire;  but  by  means  of  war  and  in- 
trigue Constantius  finally  established  undi- 
vided sway.  At  first  he  held  the  old  pagan 
faith  to  be  a  political  peril,  and  conse- 
quently persecuted  its  adherents;  develop- 
ing, unwittingly,  martyrs  to  the  dying 
religion,  and  demonstrating  that  splendid 
reserve  of  heroism  and  revolt  against 
tyranny  which  has  so  often  glorified 
humanity.  Then  he  became  an  Arian  in 
the   theological  divisions  of   the  day,    and 


76    THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

true  to  his  spirit  and  policy  persecuted  the 
orthodox  party  in  the  Church. 

In  361  Constantius  was  succeeded  by  his 
disloyal  cousin  who  has  come  down  to  us 
with  the  undesirable  appellation  of  "J^^^^^ 
the  Apostate."  Exactly  how  just  was  this 
epithet  it  is  difficult  to  decide.  At  first  he 
professed  himself  a  Christian,  but  afterward 
fell  into  disgust  over  the  disputes  and  un- 
worthy deeds  of  his  predecessors  and  of 
many  who  were  prominent  in  ecclesiastical 
affairs.  Perhaps  the  circumstances  of  his 
life  afford  some  justification  for  his  final 
change  of  attitude  toward  Christianity.  He 
had  a  quick  imaginative  mind,  and  was 
susceptible  to  influences  acting  upon  him. 
He  was  being  educated  as  an  ecclesiastic 
when  the  jealousy  of  the  Emperor  toward 
him  was  excited,  and  he  was  sent  away  to 
pursue  his  studies  in  Nicomedea.  Here  he 
fell  in  with  a  brilliant  rhetorician  who  in- 
duced him  to  embrace  the  ancient  faith. 
Later,  during  a  visit  to  Athens,  he  went 
further  in  his  enthusiasm  and  conceived  the 
project  of  restoring  the  old  religion.  This 
was  a  great  disappointment  to  the  Chris- 
tians; for  on  coming  to  the  throne  instead 
of  supporting  the  Church  he  gave  all  the 
weight  of  his  influence  as  Supreme  Pontiff 


FALL  OF  THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE    77 

to  the  reviving  of  the  out-worn  forms  of 
worship.  He  did  indeed  grant  toleration  to 
Christianity,  but  wishing  to  discredit  it  he 
sought  to  foment  trouble  through  sectarian 
controversies,  even  bringing  back  banished 
agitators  of  whom  the  Church  were  best 
freed.  He  had  only  two  years  of  imperial 
influence,  but  in  that  time  he  did  not  a  little 
to  help  on  the  reactionary  and  divisive 
movements  within  the  Church.  During  the 
following  reigns,  in  both  the  East  and  the 
West,  Christianity  was  recognized  as  the 
State  Religion,  and  all  political  hindrances 
were  put  in  the  way  of  the  old  religion,  so 
that  it  gradually  fell  out  of  favor  and  in 
time  became  the  "Pagan  Religion,"  that  is, 
the  religion  of  peasants,  Christianity  having 
become  the  controlling  factor  in  all  cities. 
The  old  religion  which  had  opposed  itself  to 
the  Church  for  four  centuries  had  fought  its 
last  battle,  and  never  again  brought, terror 
to  Christianity. 

The  tendencies  toward  ecclesiasticism 
which  began  to  manifest  themselves  even 
before  Christianity  gained  a  lawful  place  in 
the  state  became  much  more  active  with  the 
acquisition  of  freedom  and  power.  The 
clergy  became  more  and  more  distinct  as  a 
class,  not  to  say  as  an  order  in  the  Church, 


78    THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

and  organization  became  more  highly  de- 
veloped. The  bishops  assumed  to  be  the 
successors  of  the  apostles  and  to  act  as 
vehicles  for  conveying  divine  grace  to  Ihe 
lower  orders  of  the  clergy;  while  from  the 
lowest  to  the  highest  the  gradations  of  rank 
and  privilege  were  sharply  defined.  The 
great  metropolitan  bishops  exercised  the 
right  of  calling  synods  and  of  presiding^over 
ecclesiastical  courts.  The  bishops  of  the 
sees  of  Rome,  Constantinople  and  Jerusalem, 
as  well  as  of  Antioch  and  Alexandria,  took 
the  name  of  Patriarchs,  and  finally  a  sharp 
rivalry  ensued  between  Constantinople  and 
Rome  for  supremacy  in  the  Church  at  large. 
The  Roman  bishop  had  unique  advantages 
in  the  contest.  The  presumption  in  favor 
of  Rome  was  increased  under  the  tremen- 
dous influence  of  the  great  Leo  I.,  who 
showed  extraordinary  administrative  ability 
and  rendered  timely  services  during  the 
invasion  of  Italy  by  the  Huns.  At  the 
Council  of  Chalcedon,  in  the  middle  of  the 
fifth  century,  the  claim  to  the  first  place 
was  conceded  to  Rome,  and  the  Emperor, 
Valentinian  III.,  acknowledged  the  Roman 
bishop  as  the  supreme  head  of  the  Western 
Church,  granting  the  claim  upon  the 
primacy  of  St.  Peter,  and  the  dignity  of  the 


FALL  OF  THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE    79 

ancient  city.  For  a  long  time  the  term 
"Papa,"  or  "Pope,"  belonged  alike  to  all 
bishops,  but  within  a  century  or  two  by  im- 
perial decree  it  came  to  be  exclusively 
applied  to  the  highest  ecclesiastic  at  Rome. 
The  elaboration  of  worship  also  went  on 
under  combined  influences  which  inevitably 
swept  away  the  simplicity  and  naturalness 
of  earlier  days.  For  two  centuries  the 
Church  opposed  the  splendor  of  pagan  wor- 
ship with  its  own  simplicity;  but  after  the 
stamp  of  imperial  favor  had  been  given,  and 
the  rich  and  influential  came  flocking  to  the 
once  despised  standard  of  the  cross,  the 
plain  basilica,  secured  for  the  use  of  a 
Christian  congregation,  no  longer  sufficed. 
The  Christians  demanded  costly  temples  of 
their  own,  with  a  service  richly  elaborated 
to  correspond  with  the  new  surroundings. 
Sometimes  public  buildings  or  pagan  tem- 
ples were  transferred  through  the  munifi- 
cence of  emperors  to  the  uses  of  the  Church, 
and  were  consecrated  with  imposing  cer- 
emonies. Often  there  was  rich  interior 
decoration  and  symbolism,  with  the  cross 
made  prominent  amid  settings  of  precious 
stones.  Upon  the  walls  were  depicted 
Biblical  scenes,  or  the  sufferings  of  holy 
martrys.      Toward    the    end   of  the   fourth 


8o    THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

century,  very  largely  to  accommodate  the 
multitudes  of  half-converted  heathen  who 
crowded  into  the  Church,  images  were  in- 
troduced and  even  made  objects  of  religious 
adoration.  Legends  of  miraculous  healings 
easily  grew  in  an  atmosphere  of  ignorance 
and  superstition,  and  as  the  heroic  age 
passed  away  veneration  for  martyrs  and 
"saints"  became  extravagant.  Partially 
Christianized  pagans  regarded  them  very 
much  as  before  they  had  looked  upon  their 
deified  heroes.  Their  favor  and  aid  were 
invoked,  and  relics  were  depended  upon  to 
work  desired  ends.  One  who  reads  the  de- 
tails of  corruption  in  the  Church  at  this  time 
is  reminded  of  the  golden  calf  worship  which 
Jeroboam  set  up  in  Israel  and  which  proved 
itself  an  idolatrous  abomination.  Nothing 
but  the  inherent  power  of  goodness  and 
spirituality  in  the  gospel  saved  Christianity 
from  the  fate  of  the  mongrel  religion  of 
Samaria. 

Two  special  features  of  perverted  religion 
came  in  at  this  time  and  have  persisted 
through  the  centuries.  One  is  the  growth 
of  Mariolatry.  From  the  earliest  time  the 
memory  of  the  Virgin  Mary  was  naturally 
and  properly  held  in  tender  respect,  but 
under  prevailing  influences,  perhaps  in  part 


FALL  OF  THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE   8i 

from  the  honor  paid  in  the  old  religion  to 
goddesses,  she  became  an  object  of  rever- 
ence and  formal  worship.  The  second  is 
found  in  the  exaltation  of  the  Lord's  Supper 
to  the  rank  of  a  sacrifice,  offered  by  a  Chris- 
tian priest  and  acquiring  a  special  efficacy. 
It  was  around  the  celebration  of  the 
Eucharist  that  ancient  liturgies  grew  up,  in- 
cluding the  "Gloria  in  Excelsis,"  and  the 
"Te  Deum." 

It  was  during  this  period  that  tendencies 
toward  asceticism  and  monasticism  became 
dominant  in  various  sections  of  Christen- 
dom. The  movement  was  false  to  Chris- 
tianity. Its  influence  was  unhealthy, 
unmanly,  and  in  the  largest  sense  unspiri- 
tual.  There  is  no  trace  of  such  a  thing  in 
the  conduct  or  teaching  of  Christ,  nor  in- 
deed in  the  writings  of  any  apostle,  and  yet 
it  is  not  wholly  inexplicable.  For  one 
thing  there  was  a  leaning  toward  such  a 
strained  and  perverted  life  in  the  earlier 
religions  and  philosophies,  and  Christianity 
simply  became  an  inheritor  of  these  false 
notions.  It  was  not  unknown  among  the 
Jews,  one  sect,  the  Essenes,  having  devel- 
oped asceticism  as  their  distinguishing  trait. 
Among  the  Buddhists  of  India  it  was  a  pre- 
dominant characteristic,   while  the  hermits 


82    THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

of  Egypt  also  magnified  the  virtue  of  isola- 
tion from  a  world  essentially  evil. 

Besides,  there  was  a  degree  of  luxury  and 
moral  corruption  prevalent  in  society  that 
made  it  almost  impossible  for  a  spiritually- 
minded  man  to  live  with  other  men  in  the 
ordinary  fellowships  and  engagements  of 
life.  The  experiment  of  outward  separation 
had  not  then  been  proven  a  futile  one. 
There  was  a  lack  of  fine  and  broad  intel- 
ligence concerning  the  conditions  and  de- 
mands of  Christianity.  So  men  turned  away 
from  the  allurements  and  engagements  of 
an  evil  and  self-destroying  world  to  save 
their  own  souls  alive  and  to  cultivate  their 
own  piety  at  any  cost.  It  is  easy  to  see 
how  they  might  have  looked  outward  and 
upward  at  the  same  time;  and  how  they 
thus  missed  the  real  devotion  and  the  noble 
robustness  of  a  true  Christian  life.  But  it  is 
not  easy  to  understand  from  what  a  trouble- 
some world  they  fled  and  what  a  mighty 
hold  the  idea  of  self-humiliation  and  self- 
saving  had  upon  the  minds  of  men  during 
this  period.  It  not  only  touched  the  unintel- 
ligent multitudes  and  fanatical  individuals, 
but  it  brought  under  its  sway  and  converted 
into  veritable  monks,  or  at  least  into  sup- 
porters of  the  movement,  the  greatest  theo- 


FALL  OF  THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE   83 

logians  and  leaders  in  the  Church,  both  in 
the  East  and  in  the  West. 

As  an  example  we  may  turn  to  Anthony, 
the  patron  saint  of  the  anchorites,  the  ideal 
of  the  holy  hermit  weaned  from  a  wicked 
world.  As  a  lad  he  showed  a  reflective 
habit,  which  was  intensified  by  the  early 
loss  of  his  parents,  and  a  succession  of 
cares  and  troubles.  As  he  came  to  man- 
hood and  began  to  brood  over  Christian  ex- 
perience and  revelation  he  misinterpreted 
Christ's  words  to  the  young  ruler,  and  also 
his  injunction  to  his  disciples  to  take  no 
thought  for  the  morrow,  and  so  was  led  to 
part  with  all  of  his  property.  He  broke  the 
loving  and  tender  ties  which  bound  him 
to  an  only  sister,  thinking  such  affection 
worldly  and  unholy,  and  sought  the  com- 
panionship of  aged  ascetics,  finally  giving 
himself  up  to  "pious  meditations"  in  a 
mountain  cave.  Morbid  fancies  and  pas- 
sions not  unnaturally  fastened  upon  him. 
These  he  was  compelled  to  fight  without  the 
healthy  and  absorbing  occupations  and  inter- 
ests of  social  life.  There  seemed  no  refuge 
except  in  retiring  into  remoter  and  deeper 
solitude,  although  he  escaped  with  difficulty 
from  the  increasing  number  who  venerated 
him  for  his  austerities  and  supernal  piety. 


84    THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

This  tendency  to  seclusion  developed  into 
a  system  in  the  institution  of  the  cloister. 
At  first  on  an  island  of  the  Nile  a  company 
of  like-minded  saints  organized  into  classes 
graded  according  to  piety,'  working  at  sim- 
ple trades  and  giving  their  earnings  and 
benefactions  to  the  poor.  It  was  all  a  mis- 
take. They  sought  merit  before  God,  and, 
by  a  poorly  disguised  system  of  barter, 
heavenly  rewards.  Nothing  could  have 
been  more  untrue  to  the  instincts  and  de- 
mands of  human  life,  and  few  things  could 
have  been  more  hurtful  to  character.  It 
was  a  matter  of  course  that  there  should  be 
violent  and  morbid  reactions,  and  not  infre- 
quently an  unbalancing  of  mind,  with  occa- 
sional outbreaks  into  wildest  excesses. 

In  the  West  the  tendency  was  toward  the 
formal  life  of  monks;  rather  than  that  of 
anchorites,  which  prevailed  in  the  East,  and 
which  the  climate  favored.  Cloisters  and 
settlements  were  here  and  there  established, 
sometimes  on  the  basis  of  noble  and  aggres- 
sive work,  like  the  famous  monastery  at 
lona,  an  island  off  the  Scottish  coast,  from 
whence  devoted  Christian  workers  were 
sent  to  the  mainland.  Occasionally  some 
one  arose  who  condemned  the  excesses  of 
these  orders,  or  even  the  orders  themselves, 


PALL  OF  THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE  85 

on  the  ground  that  the  ordinary  Christian 
life  was  natural  and  holy,  but  their  protest 
being  opposed  by  the  great  teachers  was 
ineffectual.  The  false  notion  prevailed  at 
that  time  that  places  and  actions  were  to  be 
sharply  distinguished  as  sacred  or  secular, 
and  centuries  were  to  pass  before  the  idea 
became  dominant  that  the  whole  life  of  man 
may  be  consecrated  and  pure. 

One  of  the  marked  characteristics  of  this 
period  is  found  in  the  doctrinal  controversies 
which  occupied  the  Church  for  centuries. 
For  the  first  two  hundred  years  and  more 
there  was  no  "body  of  doctrine";  no  for- 
mulated articles  of  belief  from  which 
"heresies"  could  be  distinguished.  The 
philosophical  side  of  Christian  teaching  had 
not  engaged  the  attention  of  the  Church, 
and  men  were  content  to  worship  and  trust 
without  having  determined  the  exact  "na- 
ture of  Christ"  or  the  true  "philosophy  of 
the  atonement."  But  after  a  time  many 
men  came  into  the  Church  who  had  been 
steeped  in  Greek  culture  and  philosophy, 
and  who  by  their  mental  habits  were  com- 
pelled to  inquire  into  the  foundations  of 
their  new  faith.  They  had  questions  to  ask 
and  answers  to  give.  The  Gospel  story  and 
Gospel  doctrine  are  simple  to  the  mind  of  a 


86    THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

child,  but  in  them  are  deep  problems  for  the 
philosophic  thinker.  Curiosity  and  interest 
having  been  aroused  endless  discussion  be- 
gan, and  various  schools  of  theology  were 
developed  according  to  circumstances,  or  to 
personal  temperament  and  bent;  and  so  the 
Church  became  agitated  and  even  divided 
because  those  who  had  the  same  faith  had 
not  the  same  philosophy. 

The  school  at  Alexandria,  under  the 
powerful  leadership  of  Origen,  although 
characterized  by  excellent  breadth  and 
spirituality,  unfortunately  adopted  the  al- 
legorical method  of  interpreting  Scripture, 
by  which  any  utterance  could  be  made  to 
mean  anything.  The  school  of  Antioch, 
with  a  more  sober  and  practical  spirit,  held 
to  the  direct  and  historical  method  of  han- 
dling the  sacred  writings.  Each  of  these 
schools  became  a  center  of  theological  in- 
fluence; while  in  the  West  were  developed 
tendencies  quite  unlike  either  of  them.  As 
time  went  on,  the  "East  turned  more  and 
more  toward  speculation,  and  became  ab- 
sorbed in  abstruse  questions  concerning  the 
Trinity,  the  Person  of  Christ,  and  the  nature 
of  the  Atonement;  while  the  West,  with  an 
evident  distaste  for  the  metaphysical  sub- 
tleties of  the  Orient,  was  more  interested  in 


FALL  OP  THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE   87 

practical  inquiries  about  the  working  of  the 
human  will,  the  essence  of  sin,  and  the  ways 
of  grace. 

Some  great  names  have  come  down  the 
centuries  and  are  being  constantly  met  with 
by  readers  of  the  present  generation — such 
as  Athanasius  and  Cyril  of  Alexandria, 
Eusebius  of  Caesarea,  the  two  Gregories  and 
Basil  of  Cappadocia.  Of  these  some  were 
philosophers,  some  orators  and  some  states- 
men. John  Chrysostom  was  known  as  the 
golden-mouthed  orator  of  Constantinople. 
Ambrose  of  Milan,  of  the  same  period, 
namely,  the  last  half  of  the  fourth  century, 
was  one  of  the  powerful  leaders  of  the 
Church.  A  Roman,  trained  for  the  bar,  he 
was  the  prefect  at  Milan  when  he  was  raised 
by  acclamation  to  the  throne  of  an  arch- 
bishop, in  which  exalted  position  he  ex- 
hibited both  wisdom  and  energy.  Jerome, 
who  belonged  to  the  same  age,  was  learned 
in  the  literature  of  both  the  Greeks  and 
Romans,  and  produced  in  his  cell  in  Bethle- 
hem the  Latin  version  of  the  Bible  known 
as  the  "Vulgate."  Augustine,  his  contem- 
porary, exerted  a  more  widespread  and  last- 
ing influence  on  the  theology  of  both  the 
Catholic  and  Reformed  churches  than  any 
thinker   since  the  days  of   St.    Paul.      His 


SS    THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

personal  history  is  full  of  startling  features. 
His  father  was  a  pagan  of  low  and  vulgar 
life,  but  his  mother  was  a  woman  of  distin- 
guished Christian  piety.  The  son  passed 
through  all  the  stages  that  lay  between  the 
extremes  occupied  by  his  parents.  In 
youth  he  was  put  under  the  rhetorical  train- 
ing so  magnified  in  the  esteem  of  the  day, 
and  was  also  thoroughly  grounded  in 
heathen  philosophy.  Later  he  became  de- 
voted to  the  Manichaeans,  in  whose  doctrine 
he  encountered  an  infusion  of  Christianity. 
For  a  time  he  was  charmed  with  Neo-Pla- 
tonism,  but  it  failed  to  give  full  satisfaction, 
and  finally,  after  a  young  manhood  some- 
what lax  in  morals,  judged  from  a  Christian 
standpoint,  and  devoted  to  unspiritual 
philosophizing,  at  the  age  of  thirty-three  he 
was  soundly  converted.  Coming  into  the 
Church  through  the  profoundest  experience 
of  sin  and  grace,  holding  fast  to  convictions 
which  never  wavered,  maturing  and  conse- 
crating the  habits  of  philosophizing  in  which 
he  had  been  trained,  he  was  fitted  to  become 
the  great  theologian  of  the  West.  It  is  to 
be  gratefully  recognized  that  with  unsur- 
passed earnestness,  with  wide  learning  and 
the  highest  rhetorical  skill,  he  devoted  all 
his  powers  and  acquisitions  to  the  defense 


FALL  OF  THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE   89 

and  exposition  of  the  gospel  of  grace 
And  yet  one  is  compelled  to  follow  with  re- 
gret in  the  troubled  history  of  succeeding 
centuries  the  bias  of  his  teaching  toward 
practical  and  speculative  errors.  To  him 
was  due  the  one-sided  magnifying  of  Predes- 
tination as  against  Freeagency  in  man;  the 
domination  of  the  Roman  See;  the  doctrine 
of  Purgatory,  the  possible  damnation  of  un- 
baptized  infants,  and  certain  grotesque 
features  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Resurrection. 
This  all  illustrates  the  enormous  difficulties 
encountered  and  overcome  by  Christianity, 
not  only  in  the  perverted  sentiments  and 
practices  of  the  heathen  ages,  but  also  in 
the  crude  and  mistaken  philosophies  of  the 
day. 

It  may  be  of  interest  to  briefly  character- 
ize the  three  great  controversies  of  the 
period.  The  first  concerned  the  Divinity  of 
Christ,  and  the  Trinity,  the  second  had  to 
do  with  the  two  natures  involved  in  the 
Person  of  Christ,  the  third  occupied  itself 
with  the  question  of  the  balance  of  truth 
between  Divine  and  Human  Agency  in  Sin 
and  Salvation.  Each  was  passed  upon  by 
an  oecumenical  council 

The  first  controversy  was  precipitated  by 
Arius,    a    Presbyter  of    Alexandria,   a  man 


90    THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

serious  in  character,  austere  in  disposition, 
and  keen  in  intellect.  He  found  a  solution 
of  the  problem  of  the  Trinity  by  presenting 
Christ  as  a  created  being,  exalted  indeed  to 
the  highest  rank  and  the  agent  of  creation, 
yet  himself  derived  from  the  Everlasting 
Father.  After  fierce  agitation  and  sharp 
division  Constantine  thought  to  restore 
unity  by  means  of  the  decision  of  a  general 
council,  which  he  proceeded  to  call  at 
Nicaea  to  consider  the  question  at  issue.  In 
the  year  325  three  hundred  and  eighteen 
bishops,  mostly  from  the  East,  came  to- 
gether in  solemn  conclave.  The  proceed- 
ings were  opened  by  the  Emperor  in  person, 
who  entered  "in  all  the  majesty  of  his  im- 
perial state."  It  was  a  vain  exhortation, 
however,  that  he  gave  to  the  assembled 
bishops,  to  strive  for  unity  and  harmony,  for 
at  once  the  controversy  between  the  tall, 
ascetic,  and  nervous  Arius,  and  the  young 
arch-deacon  Athanasius,  who  though  not 
yet  thirty  was  the  champion  of  the  extreme 
doctrine  opposed  to  that  of  the  heretic, 
broke  out.  There  were  three  distinct  parties 
in  the  Council,  among  which  the  members, 
with  their  fine  shadings  of  belief  were  di- 
vided. As  all  the  world  knows,  the  decision 
went    with    the    Athanasian    party.      Very 


FALL  OF  THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE   91 

many  would  have  preferred  a  deliverance 
declaring  that  Christ  had  like  essence  with 
the  Father,  a  statement  which  would  have 
been  acceptable  to  Arius,  and  might  have 
satisfied  the  orthodox;  but,  as  usual  in 
times  of  controversy,  the  issue  was  pressed 
to  the  sharpest  definition  of  differences. 
The  authoritative  utterance  went  forth  at- 
tended by  severe  penalties  threatened 
against  those  who  differed  from  the  form  of 
Christianity  now  acknowledged  by  the  Em- 
pire; but  the  result  was  not  such  as  the  vic- 
torious party  looked  for.  The  controversy 
continued,  with  no  little  bitterness  on  both 
sides,  and  led  to  not  a  few  banishments. 
After  a  half-century  of  discussion,  with  vary- 
ing tides,  the  Nicene  theology  came  to  per- 
manent ascendancy  and  has  never  been 
seriously  disturbed,  though  the  evil  fruitage 
of  bitter  contention  was  abundant  in  many 
lands  for  many  centuries. 

The  second  problem  was  introduced  by 
the  theorizing  of  Apollinaris,  Bishop  of 
Laodicea,  who  interpreted  the  expression, 
"The  Word  became  flesh,"  to  mean  that  the 
Logos  took  the  place  of  the  rational  human 
soul  in  the  man  Christ  Jesus.  In  the  Alex- 
andrian view  the  two  natures  of  Christ  were 
unified  in  the  predominance  of  the  Divine, 


92    THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

while  in  the  Antiochian  theory  the  two 
natures  remained  distinct,  the  human  will 
having  free  and  independent  action.  In- 
stead of  allowing  time  and  open  discussion 
to  determine  probabilities  in  the  case,  the 
controversy  was  continued  in  bitterness; 
and  anathemas  and  counter  -  anathemas 
filled  the  air.  It  was  to  settle  this  dispute 
that  the  General  Council  of  Ephesus  was 
called  in  431.  It  is  probable  that  the 
methods  by  which  it  was  organized  and 
managed  were  little  in  harmony  with  the 
ethics  of  the  Master,  the  mysteries  of  whose 
being  were  under  discussion.  There  were 
two  different  meetings  with  two  different 
results;  but  in  the  end  the  banishment  of 
Nestorius  was  secured,  and  through  him 
was  developed  in  the  Orient  an  heretical 
branch  of  the  Church  which  has  continued 
even  to  the  present  day. 

The  third  controversy  was  mainly  West- 
ern and  concerned  itself  not  so  much  with 
the  nature  of  the  divine  as  of  the  human 
personality.  Pelagius,  a  British  monk, 
came  to  Rome  in  the  last  decade  of  the 
fourth  century.  He  was  serious,  strict  in 
morals,  and  clear  in  understanding.  The 
prevailing  laxity  which  he  observed  even  in 
the  clergy  offended  his  sense  of  Christian 


FALL  OF  THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE   93 

morality.  Casting  about  for  an  explanation 
of  the  inconsistencies  he  put  the  blame  upon 
the  doctrine  of  man's  helplessness.  Out  of 
his  own  experience  in  the  vigorous  resist- 
ance of  evil  he  came  to  oppose  the  prevail- 
ing belief  in  man's  helplessness  and  utter 
dependence  upon  grace  divine.  Augustine 
held  his  ground  against  him  and  out  of  the 
controversy  two  distinct  systems  of  doctrine 
about  sin,  freedom,  recovery  and  grace 
arose.  Each  school  magnified  a  truth,  but 
by  the  controversy  the  two  combatants  were, 
as  always  happens,  driven  farther  and 
farther  apart.  Augustine  held  that  Adam 
had  free  will  until  he  sinned  as  federal*  head 
of  the  race,  when  the  will  of  man  came  into 
perpetual  bondage  to  evil,  from  which  it 
could  be  released  only  by  sovereign  grace. 
Pelagius  said  that  we  sin  only  in  imitation 
of  Adam,  and  that  the  human  will  is  as  free 
as  ever  in  every  act  of  life. 

The  synod  of  Carthage,  412,  excommuni- 
cated Coelestius,  the  friend  and  supporter  of 
Pelagius,  for  heresy.  But  a  few  years  later 
two  synods  in  Palestine,  before  which  as- 
semblies Pelagius  appeared  in  person, 
acquitted  him  of  the  charge.  So  back  and 
forth  rolled  the  tide  of  battle,  with  various 
decisions  and  excommunications  and  shad- 


94    THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

ings  of  doctrine.  Gregory,  surnamed  "the 
Theologian,"  who  presided  over  the  Council 
of  Constantinople,  381,  said  he  had  never 
known  a  synod  that  did  not  aggravate  the 
evils  which  it  undertook  to  remedy.  Car- 
dinal Newman,  an  admirer  of  oecumenical 
councils,  said  fifteen  hundred  years  later, 
that  there  was  nothing  to  boast  of  in  behalf 
of  the  fathers  who  composed  the  councils, 
taken  individually,  for  they  appeared  as  an 
antagonistic  host  in  a  battle,  rather  than  as 
shepherds  of  their  people. 

It  must  be  acknowledged  that  in  general 
there  was  a  falling  off  in  the  grade  of  moral 
and  religious  life  during  this  period — and 
no  wonder.  When  Christianity  became  the 
fashionable  and  favored  religion  of  the 
Empire,  self-indulgent  people  crowded  into 
the  church.  The  new  adherents  easily  ac- 
cepted the  formalities  of  a  religious  life,  bap- 
tism, ceremonies,  church  attendance  and 
alms-giving.  The  result  was  two  most 
undersirable  extremes  of  conduct;  on  the 
one  hand  great  laxity  of  morals;  on  the 
other  a  "ghostly  and  unearthly  asceticism." 
The  Church  would  have  dealt  much  more 
effectively  with  problems  of  character  if  it 
had  been  left  to  itself,  but  emperors  and 
state     officials      intermeddled,      sometimes 


FALL  OF  THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE   95 

patronizing  and  sometimes  bullying  the 
Church,  and  always  corrupting  its  purity 
with  touches  of  worldlines  or  insincerity. 

There  were,  however,  notable  instances  of 
firm  and  brave  adherence  to  the  highest 
standards  even  against  kings  who  had  pro- 
fessed Christianity.  Upon  one  notable 
occasion  Ambrose,  Bishop  of  Milan,  com- 
pelled the  Emperor  Theodosius  to  do  sever- 
est penance  for  a  massacre  in  Thessalonica; 
although  the  order  had  been  given  in  retalia- 
tion for  the  murder  of  a  military  governor. 

Upon  another  occasion  Athanasius,  emu- 
lating the  example  of  John  the  Baptist  in 
restraining  a  ruler  from  bad  deeds,  ad- 
dressed Constantine  as  he  passed  on  horse- 
back through  the  streets  of  Constantinople, 
and  the  haughty  spirit  of  the  Emperor  was 
awed  by  the  courage  and  eloquence  of  the 
bishop. 

To  the  Emperor  Julian,  Basil  Bishop  of 
Caesarea,  sent  a  severe  reply  to  an  imperial 
threat;  afterward  undauntedly  facing  a  com- 
mission and  later  still  the  Emperor  himself. 

II.    MOHAMMEDANISM,  THE   BITTER  FOE 
OF  CHRISTIANITY 

It  is  an  amazing  thing  that  a  nation  of 
wandering   Arabs   should  have  set   out   for 


96    THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

the  conquest  of  the  world,  and  a  greater 
wonder  than  they  should  have  been  so  nearly 
successful.  The  unheralded  upshooting  of  a 
new  religion  had  its  characteristics  in  "the 
genius  and  passionate  fanaticism  of  Moham- 
med." The  author  of  this  new  religion  was 
born  at  Mecca  in  572.  His  early  life  was 
obscure,  but  his  marriage  at  twenty-eight 
with  Kadija,  a  wealthy  widow,  relieved  him 
of  worldly  care,  gave  him  leisure  for  con- 
templation, and  furnished  him  some  inspi- 
ration. He  was  sincerely  shocked  by  the 
religious  indifference  and  degeneracy  of  his 
countrymen.  Judaism  and  Christianity  had 
both  penetrated  this  region,  but  had  become 
debased  in  doctrine  and  worn  out  in  spirit- 
ual power.  It  was  not,  however,  until  Mo- 
hammed had  reached  the  age  of  forty  that 
he  began  to  have,  as  he  believed,  or  pre- 
tended to  believe,  intimations  as  to  his 
divine  mission.  These  visions  may  have 
been  the  result  of  hysteria  and  epilepsy  to 
which  he  was  subject.  At  first  he  was 
inclined  to  attribute  them  to  the  work  of  an 
evil  spirit,  but  his  wife  overruled  his  doubts 
and  persuaded  him  that  he  was  in  receipt  of 
revelations  from  God.  At  last  he  began  to 
make  the  announcement,  "There  is  one 
God,  and  Mohammed  is  his  prophet,"  and 


FALL  OF  THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE   97 

the  new  faith  which  was  styled  "Islam," 
signifying  resignation  to  the  divine  will,  was 
launched  upon  the  sea  of  human  life. 

Mohammed  was  persecuted  by  a  powerful 
prince,  and,  being  compelled  to  flee  in  622 
A.  D.,  the  date  of  his  flight  from  Mecca 
came  to  be  celebrated  as  the  Hegira,  and 
from  it  the  Mohammedan  calendar  is  still 
reckoned.  His  personal  power  was  great. 
His  commanding  presence,  eloquent  speech, 
pleasing  manners  and  his  enthusiasm  as  a 
teacher  made  him  a  political  leader  and 
religious  reformer  in  the  city  of  Medina. 
He  succeeded  at  last  in  winning  the  favor 
of  the  Arab  tribes,  and  in  630  re-entered 
Mecca;  and  before  the  two  remaining  years 
of  his  life  had  passed  he  had  succeeded  in 
destroying  idolatry.  These  last  two  years 
were  filled  with  preparations  for  an  expedi- 
tion against  the  Greeks,  in  hope  of  execut- 
ing his  commission  to  abolish  idolatry  from 
all  the  lands  of  earth. 

Mohammed  was  a  strange  mixture  of  high 
devotion  to  the  will  of  God,  and  of  craft, 
fierceness  and  cruelty  in  furthering  his  own 
purposes.  The  doctrine  and  ordinances  of 
his  religion  are  preserved  in  the  Koran, 
which  is  a  record  of  the  revelations  which 
came  to  him  through  the  angel  Gabriel,  and 


98    THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

which  his  followers  accept  as  the  Word  of 
God.  It  contains  no  original  ideas,  but  is 
a  mongrel  collection  of  sayings  from  Rab- 
binical literature,  apocryphal  gospels,  and 
other  sources.  Its  central  and  majestic 
truth  is  the  doctrine  of  monotheism,  which 
was  borrowed  from  the  Jews,  but  the  doc- 
trine of  holiness  is  obscured.  Its  portraiture 
of  God's  omnipotence  and  resistless  energy 
leads  to  the  most  extreme  fatalism.  The 
torments  of  idolators  in  hades  and  the  joys 
of  the  faithful  in  a  sensual  paradise  are  de- 
picted with  graphic  realism. 

Mohammed  was  succeeded  in  leadership 
by  caliphs  who  combined  the  usual  func- 
tions of  emperor  and  pope.  Absolutism  of 
government  and  fury  for  conquest  secured 
a  rapid  spread  of  dominion  for  the  Mos- 
lems. The  heathen,  apostates,  and  schis- 
matics were  given  the  choice, — "The  Koran 
and  tribute,  or  death."  Arabian  armies 
went  forth  full  of  unquenchable  fanaticism 
and  of  zeal  for  plunder.  Equally  to  the 
living  victor  and  the  slain  were  assured  the 
joys  of  a  tempting  paradise,  and  no  man 
spared  himself.  The  sweep  of  these  con- 
quering hosts  passes  belief.  By  637  Jeru- 
salem and  Damascus  had  fallen  to  them. 
Africa  was    next    invaded   and   conquered, 


FALL  OP  THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE   99 

and  Persia  followed  in  the  fatal  order.  By 
the  next  century  advances  had  been  made 
along  the  north  of  Africa,  and  thence  into 
Spain,  which  in  eight  years  was  subjected 
to  the  rule  of  Islam. 

The  Pyrenees  did  not  stay  the  armies  of 
the  Caliph,  and  about  725  an  immense  train 
passed  the  mountain  barriers  and  began  to 
ravage  the  cities  and  fields  of  southern 
Gaul,  and  to  threaten  religion  and  civiliza- 
tion just  as  they  were  beginning  to  manifest 
development  upon  the  basis  of  Roman  cul- 
ture and  German  virility.  It  is  almost  im- 
possible to  exaggerate  the  significance  of 
the  issue  to  which  the  two  rival  religions 
and  types  of  civilization  were  brought  by 
this  invasion  of  Western  Europe.  The  ad- 
vance from  far  away  Arabia  had  been  un- 
checked, and  now  there  was  opposed  to  the 
deathly  march  of  the  Moslems  only  scat- 
tered and  disunited  forces  of  the  various 
peoples  who  had  settled  in  different  sections 
west  of  the  Rhine,  but  had  never  fused  into 
one  nationality.  It  is  to  the  immortal 
credit  of  Charles  Martel  that  he  succeeded 
in  rallying  the  discordant  elements  of  Eu- 
rope in  united  and  determined  resistance  to 
the  Saracenic  invasion.  It  was  on  the  plains 
between    Tours    and    Poitiers    that   Charles 


looTHE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

marshaled  his  warriors  and  saved  Europe  by 
the  total  defeat  and  rout  of  the  confident 
host,  the  fragments  of  which  he  drove  back 
across  the  Pyrenees.  Spain  was  to  suffer 
for  centuries  from  Moorish  occupation;  but 
the  northern  countries  in  which  the  progress- 
ive civilization  of  Christianity  and  sound 
culture  was  to  be  worked  out  were  saved 
from  the  hopeless  blight  of  Mohammed- 
anism. 

III.    CHRISTIANITY  AMONG  THE  NEW  NATIONS 
OF  EUROPE 

During  a  considerable  part  of  the  period 
under  consideration  assaults  were  being 
made  upon  the  ancient  Roman  Empire  by 
emigrant  peoples  from  the  north.  They 
beat  upon  the  outer  lines  of  defense  during 
the  troubled  years  of  Marcus  Aurelius.  In 
the  following  centuries  the  storm  raged  with 
greater  fury  against  the  breakwaters  of  the 
whole  northern  boundary.  Hordes  of  fierce 
and  barbarous  peoples  were  restlessly  push- 
ing southward  and  westward  from  an  appar- 
ently inexhaustible  source  in  the  ill-defined 
region  beyond  the  limits  of  the  Empire.  A 
thousand  years  before  there  had  been  a  sim- 
ilar outpouring  from  these  same  lands,  and 
a  downward  movement  into  the  peninsulas 


PALL  OP  THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE    loi 

of  Greece,  Italy  and  Spain,  where  were 
formed  in  the  long  process  of  time  nations 
whose  civilization  was  to  enrich  mankind  for 
all  ages. 

Now  came  a  second  flood  of  these  rude 
tribes,  bent  on  pillage  or  occupation.  Their 
previous  history  has  been  forever  lost. 
These  barbaric  tribes,  coming  now  for  the 
first  time  upon  the  arena  of  historic  nations, 
comprised  Goths  and  Vandals,  Ostrogoths, 
Franks  and  Burgundians.  Although  evi- 
dently of  a  common  racial  origin,  they  had 
few  political  or  social  bonds,  and  centuries 
were  required  to  weld  them  into  unity  of 
nationality.  Some  causes  must,  however, 
have  acted  alike  upon  them  to  bring  about 
such  expeditions  and  migrations. 

It  was  a  time  of  great  peril,  and  the  gains 
which  had  been  made  in  respect  to  civiliza- 
tion and  religion  were  in  danger  of  being 
swept  away.  In  the  turmoil  of  barbarian 
inroads  the  old  political  lines  were  broken, 
the  old  social  conditions  were  destroyed, 
and  the  religion  which  had  just  made  con- 
quest of  the  Roman  Empire  was  put  to  new 
straits.  How  could  Christianity  survive 
the  wreck  of  ancient  institutions  and  the 
successive  influxes  of  warrior  tribes?  The 
once  flourishing  churches  of  the  Orient  be- 


I02  THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

came  weakened  and  forceless  under  the 
Ottoman  invasion.  What  could  save  the 
churches  of  the  West  when  overrun  by  the 
untamed  people  that  were  sweeping  across 
the  Rhine  and  the  Danube?  When  the  ram- 
parts to  the  north  should  give  way,  what 
could  prevent  the  complete  inundation  of 
Christian  lands  by  a  tide  of  barbarism? 

The  power  of  a  deeply-founded  civiliza- 
tion, backed  by  a  pure  and  deathless  reli- 
gion, gave  the  final  mastery  to  the  forces  of 
the  Kingdom.  This  is  the  secret  of  the 
victory  for  the  best  element  of  human  so- 
ciety, as  seen  in  the  gradual  process  by 
which  the  Western  Empire  was  overthrown. 
Time  was  the  ally  of  Christianity,  which 
thus  found  opportunity  to  work  itself  out  in 
the  regeneration  of  the  new  races.  At  first 
there  were  marauding  incursions  of  greater 
or  less  extent,  bringing  more  or  less  of  dis- 
turbance and  loss.  Then  large  bodies 
pushed  through  the  ancient  lines  and  found 
settlement,  for  a  while  recognizing  Rome, 
and  even  enlisting  in  her  weakened  and  scat- 
tered armies.  Finally  came  the  inexhaust- 
ible stream  of  invaders,  spoiling  rich 
cities,  occupying  fertile  lands,  and  making 
havoc  of  society. 

It  was  a  gigantic  task  that  Christianity 


PALL  OF  THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE   103 

unfalteringly  assumed,  to  mold  the  lives  of 
these  rude  peoples  into  forms  of  beauty  and 
good  order.  As  it  had  succeeded  in  trans- 
forming the  Empire  into  whose  heathenism 
it  entered,  so  it  hopefully  girded  itself  for 
this  new  and  more  difficult  undertaking.  It 
believed  itself  capable  of  infusing  a  new 
spirit  into  the  barbarians  and  molding  their 
ideas  and  sentiments  according  to  standards 
of  righteousness.  By  this  time  the  Church 
had  become  an  organized  force,  multitudes 
were  enrolled  in  its  membership,  institu- 
tions of  religion  were  matured,  and  able 
men  were  in  positions  of  authority  and  in- 
fluence. Moreover,  aggressive  missionary 
work  was  being  done;  and  before  the  sack- 
ing of  Rome  the  Gothic  tribes  had  learned 
from  devoted  preachers  who  sought  them 
out  in  their  northern  forests  something  about 
the  religion  of  Christ. 

In  some  respects  there  was  at  first  a  direct 
advantage  to  Christianity  from  the  work  of 
these  iconoclastic  invaders.  It  was  as 
early  as  410  A.  D.  when  the  gates  of  Rome 
yielded  to  Alaric,  and  the  ancient  heathen- 
ism of  the  Empire  had  not  quite  lost  its 
hold  upon  society.  When  the  Eternal  City 
was  sacked  the  shrines  of  the  ancient  reli- 
gion were  pillaged,  and   patrician    families 


104THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

who  were  the  chief  supporters  of  the  decay- 
ing faith  were  scattered  or  destroyed.  This 
gave  the  death  blow  to  paganism,  which  in 
the  face  of  a  dominant  Christianity  had  per- 
sisted so  long. 

For  two  centuries  there  were  constant  in- 
roads from  these  loosely  confederated  na- 
tions, especially  across  the  Rhine  into  Gaul 
and  on  into  Spain.  They  divided  and  sub- 
divided the  conquered  territory  among  them- 
selves, thus  separating  it  from  the  rest  of 
the  Empire.  These  invaders  were  without 
rights  save  those  of  conquest,  and  yet  they 
had  in  them,  as  history  has  demonstrated, 
the  fundamental  elements  of  a  stable  Chris- 
tian civilization.  They  proved  themselves 
capable  of  assimilating  in  time  the  learning 
and  the  religion  already  developed  by  the 
Greeks  and  Romans. 

At  this  point  came  a  crisis  in  the  affairs 
of  men,  a  turning  point  in  the  interests  of 
humanity,  when  the  earlier  invaders  of  Ger- 
manic stock  successfully  resisted  the  inva- 
sion of  their  newly-acquired  lands  by  a 
people  more  barbaric  than  ever  they  had 
been  and  far  less  susceptible  to  civilization. 
At  Chalons,  in  one  of  the  "decisive  bat- 
tles of  the  world,"  the  Huns  under  Attila 
were,   at  the  middle  point  of  the  fifth  cen- 


FALL  OF  THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE    105 

tury,  turned  back  from  their  attempt  to 
possess  themselves  of  Gaul  and  Spain.  It 
is  not  clear  by  what  influences  they  had  been 
induced  to  undertake  this  ambitious  expe- 
dition. It  may  have  been  upon  the  appeal 
of  the  Emperor's  jealous  sister;  it  may  have 
been  upon  an  ill-advised  invitation  to  assist 
in  the  conquest  of  Northern  Africa;  it  may 
have  been  merely  the  restlessness  and  am- 
bition of  the  remarkable  leader  of  the  Hun- 
nish  host.  After  crossing  the  Rhine  their 
ruthlessness  aroused  against  them  all  the 
forces  at  the  command  of  both  Gaul  and 
Rome.  For  the  last  time  the  armies  of  the 
Empire  were  to  do  service  for  the  ancient 
civilization,  as,  in  union  with  the  Gallic 
forces,  under  the  combined  leadership  of 
Aetius  and  Theodoric,  they  met  the  vast 
army  of  Attila,  numbering  possibly  700,000, 
and  defeated  them  in  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant contests  recorded  in  history. 

In  tracing  the  work  of  Christianity  among 
the  new  nations  of  Europe  we  come  first  of 
all  to  ancient  Britain.  It  was  during  the 
incursions  of  the  Vandals,  in  410  A.  D., 
that  Roman  troops  were  withdrawn  from 
the  British  isles,  leaving  the  Christian  civili- 
zation which  had  been  fostered  there  at  the 
mercy  of  the  rude   Picts  and  Scots  who  in- 


I06THE    CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

vaded  Britain  from  the  north.  About  450 
came  the  Angles  and  Saxons,  driving  the 
inhabitants  into  Cornwall  and  Wales  and  for 
generations  subjecting  the  island  to  Teu- 
tonic heathenism.  About  600  the  Angles 
and  Saxons  were  reached  from  Rome  by 
Gregory,  who,  while  an  abbot,  had  noted 
with  interest  fair  slaves  of  their  race  in  the 
market-place,  and  who  on  becoming  pope 
sent  the  abbot  Augustine  with  numerous  fol- 
lowers to  convert  the  English.  Two  hun- 
dred years  after  the  withdrawal  of  the  Ro- 
man legions,  came  these  legions  of  the 
Cross,  and  established  themselves  in  Kent. 
Won  by  the  simple,  unselfish  life  of  the 
monks.  King  Ethelbert  gave  Augustine  a 
residence  where  he  was  made  the  first 
"Archbishop  of  Canterbury." 

The  next  generation  found  as  firm  a  sup- 
porter in  the  north,  in  King  Edwin  of 
Northumbria,  who  had  married  a  daughter 
of  Ethelbert. 

It  was  about  450  A.  D.  that  Ireland  re- 
ceived Christianity  through  the  labors  of 
Patricius,  the  "St.  Patrick"  of  a  later  day. 
He  was  born  a  little  south  of  the  Clyde,  of 
Christian  parents,  and  was  himself  converted 
when  only  a  lad.  In  youth  he  was  carried 
off  by  pirates  to  Ireland  and  put  to  humble 


FALL  OF  THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE  107 

service  in  tending  sheep.  Having  been 
preserved  in  many  adventures  he  felt  him- 
self called  in  a  vision  of  the  night  to  carry 
the  Gospel  co  the  land  of  his  captivity.  He 
went  to  the  people  among  whom  as  a  lad 
he  had  been  a  slave,  gathered  them  in  open 
fields  and  preached  with  such  sincerity  as  to 
touch  the  hearts  of  both  peasants  and  chiefs. 
Though  not  himself  a  learned  man,  Patricius 
succeeded  in  establishing  cloisters  as  cen- 
ters of  learning  and  piety,  so  that  |^his  in- 
fluence was  felt  for  centuries  even  in  remote 
parts  of  Europe. 

Germany  proved  a  hard  field  to  conquer. 
To  break  down  the  reverential  worship  of 
the  Germanic  peoples  for  the  gods  of  their 
fathers,  to  soften  their  fierce  hearts;  and  to 
accomplish  this  through  the  agency  of 
ecclesiastics  representing  a  foreign  power, 
was  a  task  of  supreme  difficulty.  Yet  Chris- 
tianity not  only  made  rapid  strides  among 
the  German  people,  it  found  in  them  assim- 
ilative qualities  and  elements  rare  among 
the  men  of  degenerate  Rome.  There  was 
in  them  an  independence,  courage,  faithful- 
ness and  purity  most  unlike  the  type  of 
character  encountered  in  the  Empire;  and 
which  under  the  touch  of  a  pure  religion  de- 
veloped into  character  of  noble  proportions. 


loSTHE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

It  was  within  the  bounds  of  ancient  Gaul 
that  Christianity  was  to  find  its  early  devel- 
opment in  the  molding  of  a  new  empire. 
About  500  A.  D.,  Clovis,  King  of  the 
Franks,  was  converted  to  Christianity,  or  at 
least  to  its  formal  adoption  and  support. 
His  wife,  Clotide,  was  already  a  Christian, 
and  was  making  appeals  in  behalf  of  her 
religion  to  her  royal  husband.  Before  a 
decisive  battle  the  King  vowed  if  victory 
were  granted  to  him,  to  worship  the  God  of 
the  Christians.  It  was  after  he  returned  vic- 
torious from  battle  that  the  famous  baptism 
of  the  King  and  three  thousand  warriors 
occurred.  Of  course  Clovis  was  still  a  bar- 
barian at  heart,  and  was  only  slightly  re- 
strained from  ambition  and  cruelty,  yet  his 
influence  was  favorable  to  the  spread  of 
Christianity.  The  church  of  Gaul  lent  him 
support,  and  the  Franks  became  dominant 
with  their  Catholic  faith,  as  against  that  of 
the  Burgundians,  which  strongly  inclined 
to  Arianism. 

All  through  the  fifth  and  sixth  centuries 
Christianity  was  contending  for  mastery 
over  these  new  peoples,  who,  with  all  their 
half-tamed  rudeness,  never  failed  to  mani- 
fest force  and  capacity.  Although  coming 
out  of  rough  antecedents,   they  recognized 


FALL  OF  THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE  109 

the  finer  phases  of  personal  character  and 
felt  the  moral  force  of  the  Christian  Church. 
Yet  their  hereditary  habits  put  religion  to  a 
constant  strain,  and  it  is  not  surprising  that 
for  a  time  the  standard  of  church  life  and 
even  of  the  ministry  should  have  fallen. 
According  to  the  ideals  prevailing  at  the 
present  time  the  Christianity  of  this  trou- 
blous period  was  scarcely  more  than  nom- 
inal. It  was  by  a  very  gradual  process  that 
spiritual  truths  and  moral  demands  came 
at  last  to  supplant  the  crude  polytheistic 
notions  which  had  held  these  tribes  for  gen- 
erations, and  displaced  their  cruelty  and 
superstition  with  faith  and  gentleness.  The 
wonder  is  that  even  after  the  lapse  of  many 
generations  the  spirituality  and  purity  of 
Christianity  should  have  won  against  such 
tremendous  odds. 

As  we  come  toward  the  close  of  this  pe- 
riod, the  details  of  which  cannot  here  be 
given,  we  note  the  same  alliance  of  Church 
and  state  which  was  encountered  at  the 
adoption  of  Christianity  by  Emperor  Con- 
stantine.  For  a  long  time  there  had  been 
more  or  less  confusing  of  the  function  of 
Church  and  state  in  the  new  lands.  In 
Gaul,  Britain,  and  Germany  the  political 
sovereign  was  always   inclined  to  encroach 


no  THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

upon  the  province  of  the  Church,  making 
laws  and  appointments  which  should  have 
been  left  to  the  ecclesiastical  authorities. 
In  the  final  and  dramatic  issue  which  is  to  be 
recorded,  it  is  an  open  question  whether  the 
cause  of  Christianity  made  a  gain  or  suffered 
a  loss.  It  is  certain  that  for  a  century  the 
power  of  the  Papacy  was  increasing  through- 
out the  West.  It  grew  by  reason  of  the  per- 
sonal strength  and  wisdom  of  the  bishops; 
by  the  zealous  activities  of  missionaries; 
and  was  possibly  strengthened  by  the  alli- 
ance made  with  Pepin,  the  powerful  King  of 
the  Franks.  Gregory  III.,  the  Pope  of  this 
period,  proved  himself  a  man  of  great 
strength  of  character,  and  an  official  of 
shrewdness  and  power.  A  devout  monk,  he 
had  been  gradually  advanced  to  the  papal 
throne,  where  he  continued  earnest  in  the 
cause  of  morality  and  fervent  in  personal 
piety;  checking  heresies,  suppressing  dis- 
orders, and  bringing  the  Church  of  the  West 
into  close  relation  to  the  authorities  at 
Rome.  For  the  sake  of  strengthening  the 
papal  influence  in  the  distant  regions  of  the 
West  he  made  a  compact  with  Pepin,  who 
had  sought  the  moral  support  of  the  Church. 
In  752  A.  D.,  through  the  apostolic  legate, 
Boniface,  Pepin  was  anointed   and  crowned 


FALL  OF  THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE  iii 

King.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  papal 
claim  for  dominion  in  temporal  affairs,  a 
claim  immensely  strengthened  through  the 
crowning  of  his  son,  the  far  more  powerful 
and  famous  Charlemagne.  All  this  was  in 
accordance  with  ideas  coming  into  prom- 
inence and  destined  to  play  a  leading  part 
in  the  historic  drama  of  succeeding  cen- 
turies. It  was  held  that  the  Kingdom  of 
God  manifested  itself  in  two  directions, 
toward  spiritual  dominion  through  the  Pope, 
toward  temporal  dominion  through  the  Em- 
pire, and  that,  therefore,  all  the  affairs  of 
human  society  were  the  concern  of  the 
official  representatives  of  the  Kingdom. 

When  a  serious  insurrection  occurred  in 
Italy  which  nearly  cost  Pope  Leo  III.  his 
life,  he  fled  over  the  Alps  to  take  refuge  in 
the  court  of  the  Prankish  monarch.  There 
a  request  was  made  by  the  Pope  that  Char- 
lemagne come  to  Rome  to  reestablish  order; 
and  it  was  at  the  invitation  also  of  the  Pope 
that  a  vast  body  of  the  people  were  assem- 
bled to  welcome  him  in  the  Basilica  of  St. 
Peter.  Thus  was  an  opportunity  furnished 
for  merging  the  two  great  co-ordinate  pow- 
ers, the  Church  and  the  state,  which  had 
before  this  been  only  partially  and  indefina- 
bly joined.     It  was   in  the  midst  of  the  sol- 


112  THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

emn  services  of  this  famous  Christmas  Day 
in  the  year  800  A.  D.  that  the  Pope,  acting 
as  the  head  of  the  Church  and  as  represen- 
tative of  the  Roman  people,  suddenly 
advanced  and  placed  a  crown  upon  the  head 
of  Emperor  Charlemagne  amid  the  plaudits 
of  the  populace,  thus  solemnly  binding  to- 
gether two  distinct  powers  which  have  never 
yet  found  harmony  of  action  in  any  genera- 
tion or  in  any  land. 


CHAPTER    IV 

THE   MIDDLE  AGES 

The  fourth  period,  like  the  one  last  under 
review  covers  almost  exactly  five  hundred 
years  namely  from  the  beginning  of  the 
ninth  to  the  close  of  the  fourteenth  century. 
These  five  hundred  years  constitute  the  so- 
called  "Middle  Ages,"  intervening  as  they 
do  between  two  distinct  types  of  govern- 
ment and  civilization.  It  cannot  be  claimed 
that  this  period  is  marked  by  indisputable 
boundaries,  although  its  general  character- 
istics are  unmistakable.  Students  of  history 
may  differ  in  the  matter  of  a  century  or  two 
in  establishing  the  limits  of  this  transitional 
period,  and  yet  be  in  substantial  agreement 
as  to  the  distinctive  conditions  of  society 
and  government  and  as  to  the  peculiar  lines 
of  advancement  in  civilization.  One  cannot 
be  far  out  of  the  way  in  saying  that  the 
influence  of  the  Western  Roman  Empire 
continued  up  to  the  crowning  of  Charle- 
magne on  that  memorable  Christmas  Day  in 
the  year  800  and  that  by  1300  there  had 
come  to  be  an  outlook  toward  modern 
113 


114  THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

nationalities  and  modern  types  of  civiliza- 
tion. The  road  had  been  long  and  rough 
yet  the  majestic  march  of  progress  never 
halted,  and  slowly  but  surely  "the  old  order 
changed,  giving  place  to  new."  Through 
crises  in  which  the  interests  of  civilization 
trembled  in  the  balance  mankind  entered 
another  cycle  of  development. 

The  characteristics  of  the  Roman  world 
are  readily  noted.  The  elements  which 
were  shaping  and  controlling  society  to  its 
advantage  came  out  of  the  culture  of  the 
Greeks,  out  of  their  high  intellectual  life 
with  its  philosophy,  art  and  literature,  and 
also  out  of  the  splendid  institutions  devel- 
oped by  the  Romans,  who  possessed  a  gen- 
ius for  law,  order  and  administration.  The 
combined  contributions  of  these  two  kindred 
nations  did  not  furnish  all  the  elements  need- 
ful for  the  development  of  personal  charac- 
ter and  social  life,  and  yet  they  did 
establish  regularity  and  co-ordination,  and 
secured  a  grade  of  social  life  which  was 
demonstrably  higher  and  more  stable  than 
that  attained  by  other  ancient  people.  When 
the  influences  which  had  made  Greece  and 
Rome  were  in  a  measure  lost  to  the  world, 
in  place  of  order  came  widespread  disorder 
and  social  perils  without  number.     It  was  a 


THE    MIDDLE   AGES  115 

protracted  period,  broken,  changeful,  uncer- 
tain, with  everything  of  value  to  mankind, 
— social  order,  government,  intellectual  life, 
morals  and  religion, — at  stake.  But  it  was 
not  unproductive.  New  forces  were  con- 
stantly coming  into  play,  and  as  old  ideas 
died  out  new  ones  were  born.  Outworn 
institutions  were  overwhelmed  and  buried 
from  sight,  but  new  organizations  of  better 
adaptability  to  a  new  order  of  things  were 
devised.  At  last  came,  with  the  apparent 
suddenness  always  attending  the  final  stages 
of  development.  Modern  Civilization, — 
with  its  common  characteristics  in  France, 
Germany,  England  and  elsewhere, — a  civili- 
zation which  has  had  centuries  of  continu- 
ance and  unfolding. 

This  period  is  not  infrequently  termed 
the  "Dark  Ages,"  and  with  evident  pro- 
priety if  only  it  be  remembered  that  through 
its  hours  of  deepest  shadow  the  world  moves 
toward  a  new  day.  There  is  no  such  thing 
as  absolute  darkness.  Far  up  in  the  heav- 
ens light  dwells  eternal,  and  some  rays 
struggle  through  the  murkiest  atmosphere 
earth  ever  knows.  There  have  been  no  cen- 
turies of  human  history  utterly  devoid  of 
present  illumination  and  of  the  promise  of 
better  things  to  come.     But  relatively  the 


II6THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

middle  ages  were  gloomy  enough.  The 
whole  period  was  dark,  distressful,  doubtful. 
There  was  a  turning  and  overturning  until 
chaos  threatened  to  reign  triumphant. 
There  was  such  a  manifest  destructiveness 
in  the  barbarian  occupation  of  lands  once 
held  by  the  legions  of  Rome,  there  was  such 
a  mingling  of  discordant  elements  in  so- 
ciety, human  life  and  property  were  in  such 
constant  peril,  learning  was  so  conspicuously 
wanting  and  religion  at  such  a  low  ebb,  that 
the  eye  sweeps  over  these  stretches  of  time 
in  what  seems  at  first  a  vain  search  for 
points  of  light  and  signs  of  promise. 

It  must  have  been  difficult  for  the  noblest 
and  most  aspiring  in  these  troublous  times 
to  gain  a  broad  outlook  for  the  progress  of 
mankind.  There  was  but  a  meager  basis 
for  nationality  with  its  strongly  centered  life 
and  its  grand  appeals  to  patriotic  devotion. 
The  bonds  which  could  hold  various  peo- 
ples in  common  interest  and  friendliness 
were  few  and  feeble.  There  was  a  lack  of 
the  fundamental  medium  of  intercourse  be- 
tween people,  for  even  language  was  in  a 
"state  of  flux."  In  all  the  southern  coun- 
tries of  Europe  there  were  for  generations 
intermediate  and  changeful  forms  of  speech. 
The  Roman  soldiers  and  colonists  had  set- 


THE   MIDDLE   AGES  117 

tied  in  various  sections,  bringing  with  them 
their  Latin  tongue,  which  was  strong  enough 
to  prevail  as  the  basis  of  Italian,  Spanish 
and  French.  But  from  time  to  time  there 
came  in  the  invading  nations  from  beyond 
the  Rhine  with  their  rude  barbarian  dialects. 
It  took  centuries  to  weld  into  composite  but 
unified  language  these  varied  elements  of 
speech,  and  meanwhile  there  was  no  vernac- 
ular common  to  the  many,  much  less  one 
capable  of  expressing  refined  and  ennobling 
thoughts  and  sentiments.  Literature  for  a 
considerable  period  was  lacking.  That 
which  had  been  developed  in  Greece  and 
Rome  was  no  longer  available,  and  the  new 
harvest  had  yet  to  be  garnered. 

It  was  an  age  of  general  and  gross  igno- 
rance. Yet  it  was  a  period  presenting  fasci- 
nating problems  to  the  student  of  history; 
and  the  striking  contrasts  here  and  there 
displayed  account  for  its  fruitfulness  in  pro- 
ducing the  elements  of  a  broader  and  higher 
civilization  than  men  had  before  known. 
It  becomes  more  and  more  clear  that  much 
of  greatest  moment  to  humanity  was  being 
wrought  out,  and  that  the  way  was  being 
prepared  for  solid  and  lasting  gains.  Pro- 
fessor Fisher  in  a  notable  passage  character- 
izes this  period  thus:   "One   is  struck  with 


II8THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

the  strong  contrasts  that  present  themselves 
in  every  province  of  life,  and  lend  to  it  a 
picturesque  character.  By  the  side  of  the 
brilliant  attire  of  the  prince  and  the  bishop, 
we  see  the  coarse  frock  of  the  monk  and  the 
rags  of  the  peasant.  In  the  vicinity  of  the 
mighty  cathedral,  whose  spires  rise  above 
the  tallest  trees  of  the  forest,  are  the  mean 
dwelling  of  the  mechanic  and  the  peasant's 
miserable  hovel.  Associated  with  mail-clad 
knights,  whose  trade  is  war  and  whose  de- 
light is  in  combat,  are  men  whose  sacred 
vocation  forbids  the  use  of  force  altogether. 
Through  lands  overspread  with  deeds  of  vio- 
ence,  the  lonely  wayfarer  with  the  staff  and 
badge  of  a  pilgrim  passes  unharmed  and  in 
safety.  In  sight  of  castles  about  whose 
walls  fierce  battles  rage,  are  the  church  and 
the  monastery,  within  the  precincts  of 
which  quiet  reigns,  and  all  violence  is 
branded  as  sacrilege.  There  is  a  like  con- 
trast when  we  look  at  the  inmost  spirit  and 
temper  of  different  classes.  On  the  one 
hand  there  is  flagrant  wickedness,  the  very 
thought  of  which  excites  horror.  On  the 
other  hand  we  meet  with  examples  of  sanc- 
tity that  command  in  the  most  enlightened 
days  the  deepest  reverence  of  all  who  value 
Christian  excellence." 


THE   MIDDLE   AGES  119 

In  order  to  gain  impressions  as  clear  as 
possible  concerning  the  developments  of 
this  period  it  will  be  well  to  consider  in 
turn  several  topics  of  interest. 

I.    POLITICAL    CHANGES 

From  one  point  of  view  there  is  a  marked 
difference  between  the  secular  and  the 
sacred  elements  of  human  life.  It  is  quite 
possible  to  be  deeply  interested  in  the 
former  and  indifferent  to  the  latter.  Yet  in 
studying  the  general  advance  of  mankind 
one  must  recognize  that  although  easily  dis- 
tinguished from  each  other  the  two  lines  of 
development  often  coincide.  In  the  wid- 
est outlook  human  life  is  one.  Society  is  a 
unit,  and  it  moves  along  a  single  path. 
History  cannot  concern  itself  with  either 
phase  of  social  evolution  without  giving 
consideration  to  the  other.  We  cannot  un- 
derstand the  rise  and  progress  of  Christian 
civilization  without  following  the  story  of 
these  centuries  in  both  branches  of  human 
conduct.  The  sublime  onward  movement 
of  society  has  always  been  along  the  par- 
allel lines  of  political  and  moral  achieve- 
ment. 

The  political  changes  through  which  Eng- 
land  passed   during    this   period   produced 


I20THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

effects  which  have  been  woven  into  the 
warp  and  woof  of  her  composite  national 
life.  For  two  centuries  there  was  a  succes- 
sion of  Saxon  monarchs,  broken  only  by 
three  short  reigns  of  Danish  kings.  When 
we  find  Egbert  of  Wessex  in  828  A.  D.  unit- 
ing the  kingdoms  of  the  old  Heptarchy  we 
catch  the  earliest  glimpse  of  nationality 
north  of  the  Channel.  Then  came  the 
memorable  Norman  Conquest,  in  1066  A. 
D.,  and  a  new  royal  line  beginning  with 
William  the  Conqueror.  The  Plantagenets, 
who  followed,  held  the  throne  for  two  and 
a  half  centuries.  In  the  course  of  the  few 
centuries  that  followed,  many  plots  were 
hatched  and  conflicts  waged,  but  long  before 
that  period  came  to  an  end  the  unity  of  Eng- 
land had  been  put  beyond  peradventure. 

At  the  beginning  of  this  period  the  terri- 
torial limits  of  France  were  more  sharply 
defined  than  those  of  any  other  section  of 
the  great  empire  over  which  Charlemagne 
had  been  crowned,  yet  even  here  all  was 
not  settled.  Doubtless  Charlemagne  him- 
self fancied  the  work  of  nation  building 
fairly  completed  at  the  end  of  his  long  and 
efficient  reign.  If  so,  he  was  woefully  mis- 
taken. A  succession  of  men  of  like  calibre 
with   himself,  able  in  device  and  execution 


THE   MIDDLE   AGES  121 

on  the  scale  of  a  continent,  might  have 
resisted  the  inevitable  tendencies  toward 
disintegration, — but  he  had  no  fit  successor; 
and  on  both  sides  of  the  Rhine  changes 
were  destined  to  follow  rapidly.  His  own 
work  fairly  entitles  him  to  the  term  "Great," 
which  has  been  accorded  to  the  few  leaders 
in  human  affairs  who  have  manifestly 
directed  the  course  of  history.  He  was 
"Great"  not  merely  in  the  measure  of  his 
plans  and  ambitions,  but  in  the  scope  of  his 
actual  accomplishments.  He  ranks  by  vir- 
tue of  his  achievements  with  Alexander  and 
Caesar.  His  conceptions  of  the  mission  to 
which  he  had  been  called  had  a  grandeur 
which  was  matched  only  by  his  restless 
activity  in  behalf  of  a  breadth  of  empire  and 
a  type  of  civilization  which  should  be  of 
lasting  benefit  to  mankind.  He  not  only 
led  armies  with  skill  and  daring;  but  estab- 
lished schools  and  libraries  for  the  spread  of 
learning;  improved  the  currency  and  in 
other  ways  aided  commerce;  promoted  the 
cultivation  of  the  land;  harmonized  the 
Roman  and  the  barbarian  codes  of  law; 
organized  the  army  on  a  stable  foundation; 
and  established  a  naval  force  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  coast. 

Charlemagne    was   immediately  followed 


122  THE   CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

by  his  son  Louis  the  Debonair,  good  natured 
and  pious,  a  delightful  type  of  the  Chris- 
tian gentleman,  not  lacking  in  wit  and  train- 
ing, or  in  courage,  but  of  quite  too  kindly  a 
disposition  and  of  too  sensitive  a  conscience 
to  thoroughly  master  and  control  the  con- 
flicting elements  of  the  age  in  which  he 
lived.  Only  men  of  rugged  character  and 
iron  wills,  like  Charles  Martel  and  Pepin, 
could  have  carried  on  the  enterprise  which 
Charlemagne  laid  down.  The  Frankish- 
Roman  Empire  which  the  genius  of  his 
father  had  built  into  seeming  unity  was  too 
unwieldy  for  the  hands  of  Louis  the  Gentle, 
and  his  whole  life  was  given  to  sad  and 
profitless  struggles  with  his  three  undutiful 
sons  whom  he  had  too  generously  associated 
in  rulership  with  himself.  Out  of  it  all 
came  not  only  sorrow  to  the  Emperor,  but 
confusion  and  dismemberment  to  the  Em- 
pire. First  the  sons  took  up  arms  against  a 
father  of  whom  they  were  not  worthy,  com- 
pelling him  to  abdicate  his  throne,  and 
breaking  his  heart  by  their  unfilial  harsh- 
ness; and  then  turned  their  arms  against 
each  other  and  brought  about  a  partition  of 
the  Empire.  Within  two  centuries  the  de- 
scendants of  Charlemagne  had  sunk  into 
insignificance. 


THE   MIDDLE   AGES  123 

For  long  years  thereafter  France  could 
scarcely  be  said  to  possess  a  national  his- 
tory. The  land  was  so  divided  and  subdi- 
vided between  different  princes  and  tribes 
that  the  spirit  of  unity  hardly  existed.  It 
was  "Burgundy,"  "Normandy,"  ''Aqui- 
taine,"  and  so  on  to  the  end  of  the  list,  the 
vassals  having  small  relationship  to  the 
crown,  and  each  great  baron  being  absorbed 
in  the  maintenance  of  his  own  independ- 
ence. It  was  not  until  the  reign  of  Louis 
VII.,  in  the  middle  of  the  twelfth  century, 
that  the  monarchy  of  France  began  to  re- 
cover its  power.  It  was  during  the  two  cen- 
turies of  disorder  that  followed  the  death  of 
Louis  the  Debonair  that  the  ages  became  so 
profoundly  "dark."  This  was  a  time  of 
political  chaos  and  social  perturbation.  In 
the  breaking  up  of  the  Empire  of  Charle- 
magne barbarism  triumphed,  and  all  lines  of 
development  seemed  hopelessly  checked. 
Europe  suffered  from  repeated  inroads  of 
predatory  bands,  the  Arabs  harassing  the 
land  from  the  south,  the  Slavic  tribes  from 
the  east,  and  the  Norsemen  from  the  north. 
The  rule  of  the  Carlovingians  developed 
neither  strength  nor  dignity. 

The  vigorous  work  of  Louis  VII.,  whose 
individual  sovereignty   covered   more    than 


124  THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

forty  years,  was  followed  by  that  of  his  son, 
Philip  Augustus,  and  his  grandson,  Louis 
VIII.;  they  in  turn  preparing  the  way  for 
fifty  years  of  splendid  service  to  the  nation 
and  to  mankind  by  Louis  IX.,  admirable 
king  and  true  saint. 

The  political  history  of  Germany  during 
this  period  is  properly  comprised  under 
that  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire.  It  was 
ruled  over  by  emperors  who  claimed  as 
representatives  of  the  ancient  Roman  Em- 
pire to  be  in  rightful  authority  over  all  the 
nations  of  western  and  central  Europe. 
They  applied  the  term  "Holy"  to  their 
administrations  as  political  sovereigns  on 
the  ground  of  the  interdependence  of  state 
and  Church  which  was  sealed  at  the  corona- 
tion of  Charlemagne  in  the  Basilica  of  St. 
Peter  at  Rome.  By  the  treaty  of  partition 
entered  into  between  the  sons  of  Louis  the 
Debonair  the  Carlovingian  dynasty  con- 
tinued in  the  eastern  part  of  Charlemagne's 
vast  empire.  In  the  course  of  a  century  or 
two  the  limits  and  characteristics  of  the 
Holy  Roman  Empire  became  fairly  well 
defined,  though  neither  in  territory  nor 
function  was  there  entire  freedom  from  dis- 
pute. In  theory  there  were  two  sovereigns 
who  could  not  come  into  conflict,  since  they 


THE   MIDDLE   AGES  125 

were  simply  the  two-fold  expression  of  the 
one  kingdom  of  God.  According  to  this 
construction,  "God  had  set  the  Pope  over 
the  spiritual  interests  of  the  Church,  and 
the  Emperor  over  its  temporal  affairs.  The 
Pope  was  to  so  guide  and  rule  men's  souls 
that  they  should  attain  to  eternal  life;  the 
Emperor  was  to  so  govern  their  outward 
relations  that  their  spiritual  life  should  be 
most  effectively  promoted.  The  harmo- 
nious co-operation  of  these  two  great  world- 
rulers,  each  in  his  own  sphere,  was  to  bring 
in  the  kingdom  of  God  on  earth.  It  was  a 
beautiful  thought,  to  which  the  practices  of 
both  emperors  and  pope  often  presented  a 
sad  contrast." 

In  spite  of  imperfections  of  character  and 
faults  of  rulership  on  the  part  of  both  sets 
of  potentates  involved  in  this  compact,  the 
progress  of  Germany  through  these  centu- 
ries was  steadily  toward  distinct  nationality 
and  autonomy.  At  the  beginning  of  this 
period,  notwithstanding  the  apparent  domi- 
nation of  Charlemagne,  the  territory  of  the 
Rhine  was  divided  between  the  minor 
nationalities  of  the  Thuringians,  Franks, 
Saxons,  Bavarians,  and  others.  Through 
the  passing  centuries  the  German  nation 
grew  by  a  union  of  those  separate  national- 


126  THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

ities  under  a  succession  of  emperors,  the 
Saxon  line  holding  the  ascendency  for  about 
a  hundred  years  from  the  beginning  of  the 
tenth  century,  the  Franconian  and  Swabian 
lines  taking  turns  for  a  somewhat  similar 
period,  the  house  of  Hapsburg  being  on  the 
throne  at  the  close  of  the  thirteenth  century. 

II.    PHASES    OF    CHRISTIANITY 

At  no  time  during  this  long  and  distress- 
ful period  did  Christianity  cease  to  be  a 
vital  force,  though  some  of  its  manifesta- 
tions and  activities  seem  to  us  of  a  later 
day,  crude,  mistaken,  and  wasteful.  Doubt- 
less there  was  a  lack  of  breadth  and  far- 
sightedness, but  coherence  and  energy  of 
some  sort  were  never  wanting. 

There  never  failed  some  measure  of  direct 
and  positive  work  on  the  part  of  men  who 
had  accepted  a  commission  to  evangelize 
the  world.  The  word  of  the  Gospel  was 
carried  here  and  there  by  adventurous  trav- 
elers, by  members  of  conquering  armies,  and 
by  missionary  monks.  Before  this  period 
closed  Germany  and  England  had  both 
become  predominantly  Christian.  Chris- 
tianity was  introduced  into  Denmark  by 
efforts  of  Louis  the  Debonair,  and  under 
favor  of  Canute,  the  conqueror  of  England. 


THE   MIDDLE   AGES  127 

From  here  it  was  pushed  over  to  the  coast 
of  Sweden,  captive  youth  having  been  won 
and  instructed  that  they  might  carry  back 
the  message  to  their  countrymen.  Thence 
it  spread  to  Norway,  and  even  to  Iceland 
and  Greenland.  In  none  of  these  countries 
was  the  movement  a  swift  one.  The  early 
ideas  of  all  these  people  were  crude  in  the 
extreme,  the  "new  god"  being  worshiped 
for  a  time  together  with  the  older  ones. 
But  in  the  course  of  decades  and  half-cen- 
turies their  notions  became  more  exact,  their 
moral  standards  more  worthy  and  their  re- 
ligious life  more  pronounced. 

The  Bulgarians  coming  into  Europe  from 
Central  Asia  adopted  the  Slavic  language 
and  customs  and  thus  shut  themselves  out 
from  the  religious  teachings  of  Germany  and 
Rome.  They  were,  however.  Christianized 
from  Constantinople  and  became  connected 
with  the  Eastern  Church. 

The  Moravians  had  a  romantic  history 
which  is  of  special  interest  in  view  of  their 
later  distinguished  service  to  the  world. 
After  being  won  to  Christianity  from  Con- 
stantinople their  country  was  overrun  by  a 
horde  of  Magyar^  from  barbaric  Asia.  For 
a  long  time  a  fierce  struggle  was  maintained 
between  Christianity  and  the  rude  heathen- 


128  THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

ism  of  their  conquerors,  but  out  of  it  the 
purer  religion  came  at  last  triumphant. 
Largely  through  two  noble  princes  Chris- 
tianity spread  from  what  now  became 
Bohemia  into  Poland,  where  it  became 
the  state  religion,  under  the  jurisdiction  of 
Rome. 

In  Christianizing  Prussia  a  characteristic 
method  of  the  times  was  adopted,  which  is 
strongly  depicted  in  "The  Deluge,"  a  his- 
torical novel  of  great  power,  by  Sienkiewicz. 
In  the  thirteenth  century  an  order  of  military 
knights,  known  as  "Brethren  of  the  Sword," 
subdued  Lavonia  to  Christianity  by  force  of 
arms,  and  uniting  with  a  similar  order  of 
German  knights  brought  Prussia  also  into 
subjection. 

The  work  among  the  Slavic  people  was 
slow  and  fluctuating,  owing  largely  to  differ- 
ences of  language.  The  real  conquest  of  the 
Russians  was  finally  made  about  the  year 
1000  A.  D.  by  missionaries  from  Constan- 
tinople, the  famous  King  Vladimir  having 
been  deeply  impressed  by  the  magnificence 
of  St.  Sophia.  Russia  has  continued  to  this 
day  in   connection  with  the  Eastern  Church. 

In  Spain  there  was  more  or  less  friction 
between  Mohammedans  and  Christians  for 
centuries.      Within  the  Church   itself  were 


THE   MIDDLE   AGES  129 

two  parties,  one  seeking  martyrdom  and 
advocating  bold  and  provocative  conduct; 
the  other  holding  it  better  to  live  quiet, 
unobtrusive  lives,  trusting  to  the  inherent 
winsomeness  and  expansiveness  of  Chris- 
tianity. About  the  middle  of  the  eighth 
century  a  great  outbreak  and  general  perse- 
cution was  threatened,  but  the  Council  of 
Cordova  forbade  Christians  to  appear  before 
magistrates  to  confess  the  faith  unless  com- 
pelled by  judicial  procedure.  So  the  ex- 
citement died  out,  and  a  fair  degree  of 
religious  freedom  was  enjoyed  until  the 
Moorish  power  was  finally  broken,  near  the 
close  of  the  eleventh  century,  by  the  Cid, 
the  greatest  warrior  produced  out  of  the 
long  struggle  between  Christian  and  Moslem. 
Various  efforts  at  evangelization  were 
made  in  the  far  East  by  the  heretical  Nes- 
torians  belonging  to  the  Church  in  Persia, 
but  the  Tartar  tribes  proved  wild  and  in- 
tractable. The  Mongolian  religion,  with 
its  assertions  of  one  Almighty  Creator, 
held  them  for  a  while  against  both  Chris- 
tianity'and  Mohammedanism,  but  finally  two 
separate  empires  were  established,  one  in 
Persia,  where  Mohammedanism  triumphed, 
and  one  centering  in  Pekin,  where,  strange 
to    say,     Christianity    prevailed.       It    was 


i3oTHE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

through  the  efforts  of  a  devoted  missionary 
who  wisely  sought  to  convert  and  train  the 
children,  that  Christianity  gained  a  foot- 
hold in  China  in  this  remote  century.  For 
eleven  years  his  work  was  uninterrupted, 
and  his  hope  of  developing  qualified  native 
teachers  and  preachers  rested  upon  a  good 
foundation.  He  had  won  adherents  and 
had  translated  the  New  Testament  into  the 
Tartar  language,  when  a  Chinese  insurrec- 
tion overwhelmed  the  community,  dissipat- 
ing the  infant  forces  and  postponing  the 
Christianizing  of  this  great  empire  for  six 
or  seven  centuries. 

The  Crusades  could  have  taken  place  only 
in  such  an  age  as  this, — an  age  of  ignorance 
and  superstition,  of  suppressed  energies,  of 
deep  devotion  and  chivalry.  The  first  Cru- 
sade went  out  from  France  and  Northern 
Italy,  in  the  closing  years  of  the  eleventh 
century.  It  was  urged  on  the  ground  that 
Christian  pilgrims  to  Jerusalem  had  been 
slain  by  Turks,  and  was  preached  and  finally 
led  by  Peter  the  Hermit,  "an  eloquent  and 
meager-visaged  pilgrim,"  who  everywhere 
aroused  Christians  to  resent  and  avenge  the 
wrongs  of  their  brethren.  Pope  Urban  II., 
who  also  embraced  the  cause,  appealed  to 
every  human  passion,   granting   absolution 


THE   MIDDLE   AGES  131 

and  promises  of  blessedness  hereafter  to  all 
participants.  The  offers  of  reward  added 
to  a  body  of  sincere  devotees  a  host  of  crim- 
inals set  free  for  the  service,  and  also  of 
adventurers  who  were  moved  by  the  hope  of 
booty.  The  disorderly  mob  marching 
through  Bulgaria  filled  the  country  with 
robbery  and  murder,  and  were  in  turn 
slaughtered  by  thousands  upon  the  uprising 
of  the  inhabitants.  The  remnant  reached 
Constantinople,  but  were  nearly  all  destroyed 
in  their  march  through  Asia  Minor.  A 
hundred  thousand  men  had  already  perished 
when  the  Duke  of  Lorraine,  the  famous 
Godfrey  de  Bouillon,  marched  toward  Con- 
stantinople with  a  host  of  well-appointed 
knights.  With  various  adventures  and 
countless  sufferings  this  army  appeared 
before  the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  carried  it  by 
storm  and  wreaked  vengeance  on  both  Sar- 
acens and  Jews.  A  new  kingdom  was  set 
up  on  the  plan  of  western  feudalism.  But 
it  was  necessary  to  sustain  many  encounters 
with  infidels,  and  as  the  years  went  by  the 
condition  of  the  kingdom  at  the  Holy  City 
became  exceedingly  precarious. 

The  second  Crusade  was  instituted  by  the 
kings  of  Germany  and  France  in  1147,  being 
stirred  up  by  St.    Bernard,  abbot  of  Clair- 


132  THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

vaux,  in  the  hope  of  saving  the  Holy  Sepul- 
chre from  the  hands  of  the  infidels,  the 
powerful  Sultan  of  Mosul  having  taken 
Edessa  and  threatened  Jerusalem.  Bernard 
succeeded  in  arousing  slumbering  zeal  for 
religion  by  his  fiery  eloquence  and  pious 
enthusiasm,  but  the  ultimate  result  was 
untold  hardship  and  sacrifice  and  the  loss  of 
countless  lives.  It  was  a  vast  blunder  on 
the  part  of  a  really  noble  and  useful  man. 

The  third  Crusade  came  forty  years  later 
when  Jerusalem  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of 
Saladin.  Frederick  I.  of  Germany,  Philip 
of  France,  and  Richard  of  England  went  in 
joint  expedition  to  the  rescue  of  the  Holy 
City.  "From  the  southernmost  point  of 
Italy  to  the  rude  mountains  of  Scandinavia" 
streamed  forth  armed  bands  toward  Pales- 
tine. The  cost  of  the  enterprise  was  great 
in  treasure,  sufferings  and  human  lives,  on 
both  sides,  and  the  result  was  a  truce  by 
which  residence  on  the  sea  coast  from  Tyre 
to  Joppa  and  access  to  the  holy  places  were 
secured  to  the  Christians. 

The  fourth  Crusade  was  undertaken  in 
1204  by  knights  of  France  and  Italy  who 
were  lured  eastward  by  hope  of  material 
gains,  and  who  succeeded  in  dividing  among 
themselves  the  spoils  of  the  Byzantine  King- 


THE   MIDDLE   AGES  133 

dom;  but  the  expedition  was  without  results 
so  far  as  Jerusalem  was  concerned. 

The  fifth  Crusade  is  famous  as  having 
been  undertaken  by  Frederick  II.  of  Ger- 
many while  under  the  ban  of  excommunica- 
tion from  the  Pope,  Gregory  IX.  It 
terminated  in  a  favorable  treaty  with  the 
Saracens.  The  Pope,  who  had  forbidden 
Christian  warriors  to  follow  the  Emperor, 
now  fulminated  a  decree  of  excommunica- 
tion against  the  city  and  the  holy  sepulchre, 
so  that  Frederick  was  compelled  to  place 
upon  his  own  head  the  crown  of  Jerusalem 
without  the  solemnity  of  a  mass.  On  his 
return  there  ensued  a  protracted  contest  in 
Germany  between  the  imperial  and  papal 
forces,  which  ended  in  the  withdrawal  of  the 
ban  and  the  bestowal  of  the  papal  benedic- 
tion upon  Frederick. 

The  last  two  Crusades  were  led  by  the 
devoted  but  mistaken  Louis  IX.,  the  only 
sainted  ruler  that  ever  sat  upon  the  throne 
of  France.  The  results  were  of  smallest 
consequence,  beyond  the  contribution  of 
thousands  of  bodies  to  the  soil  of  Syria, 
which  "for  two  hundred  years  had  been 
drenched  by  the  blood  of  so  many  millions." 

The  Crusades  were  costly  beyond  estimate 
in  treasure  and  in  human  lives,  and  seem  to 


134  THE   CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

modern  thought  irrational  and  even  unchris- 
tian. Yet  they  served  a  great  purpose  in 
advancing  the  cause  of  civilization  in  a  rude 
and  unprogressive  age.  While  they  moved 
many  to  gloomy  fanaticism,  they  yet 
awakened  multitudes  to  religious  zeal,  be- 
sides adding  to  the  treasure  and  prestige  of 
the  Church.  Indirectly  they  opened  the 
minds  of  men  to  cultivation  through  ac- 
quaintance with  foreign  lands  and  the  arts 
and  sciences  of  other  peoples.  The  knightly 
class  was  doubtless  ennobled  ,by  the  roman- 
tic aims  which  called  them  forth  in  a  spirit 
of  chivalry  and  devotion  to  the  Cross.  But 
what  was  of  still  greater  importance,  a  free 
peasantry  arose  out  of  liberties  won  at  such 
great  sacrifice,  and  new  lines  of  trade  and 
commerce  were  opened  for  the  ultimate 
enrichment  of  many  towns  and  cities  of  the 
West. 

This  period  is  marked  by  the  develop- 
ment of  several  great  orders  of  monks.  The 
tendencies  toward  a  monastic  life  had  de- 
clared themselves  ten  centuries  before,  but 
circumstances  favored  the  highest  develop- 
ment of  such  organizations  during  the  mid- 
dle ages.  Often  they  originated  in  true 
piety  and  pure  zeal  for  religion  and  service 
to  humanity.     There  was  a  combined  pres- 


THE  MIDDLE  AGES  135 

sure  from  ambition  for  spiritual  culture,  and 
from  the  manifest  needs  of  the  people  in  a 
rough  and  tumultuous  age.  Men  retired 
from  the  enjoyments  and  engagements  of 
ordinary  life,  subjecting  themselves  to  strict- 
est rules,  and  giving  their  daily  ministra- 
tions to  the  ignorant  who  needed  instruction 
and  exhortation  and  to  the  sick  and  desti- 
tute who  suffered  from  the  lack  of  bodily 
comforts. 

Among  these  orders  were  the  Dominicans, 
who  braved  many  hardships  for  the  poor, 
winning  by  their  self-denying  labors  im- 
mense popularity  throughout  Italy,  Spain, 
France  and  Germany,  and  finally  forcing 
their  way  into  the  great  universities  of 
Bologna,  Paris  and  Oxford.  X  Side  by  side 
with  them  grew  up  the  order  of  the  Fran- 
ciscans, whose  members  went  out  to  conquer 
the  world  for  Christ  by  kindly  service  and 
the  simple  preaching  of  the  Gospel.  At 
first  they  were  full  of  the  enthusiasm  and 
mysticism  of  their  founder,  but  in  the  end, 
as  with  the  Dominicans,  the  order  becom- 
ing possessed  of  great  wealth,  relaxed  the 
rigid  rules  of  early  days,  and  came  under 
the  domination  of  ambitious  men  whose 
purposes  were  remote  from  the  devotion  and 
piety  suggested  by  the  life  of  their  Master. 


136  THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

Belonging  to  these  times  and  to  this  order 
of  religious  life  there  are  two  notable  char- 
acters which  illustrate  the  sincerity  and 
benevolence  of  true  Christianity  even  in 
such  an  age  as  this. 

The  first  of  these,  who  has  come  to  be 
known  as  St.  Bernard,  or  "Bernard  of 
Clairvaux,"  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
men  of  his  time.  He  was  born  in  1091  A. 
D.,  near  Dijon,  of  a  family  distinguished 
for  bravery,  justice,  and  kindness  to  the 
poor.  His  father  was  a  knight  and  a  vassal 
of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy;  his  mother,  a 
woman  of  strong  religious  character,  had 
great  influence  over  her  son.  A  thoughtful 
youth,  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  he  joined 
the  Cistercians,  along  with  thirty  compan- 
ions, including  four  of  his  brothers.  He 
began  preaching  with  such  tremendous 
effectiveness  that,  "Mothers  hid  their  sons, 
wives  their  husbands,  and  companions  their 
friends,  lest  they  should  be  led  away  cap- 
tive by  his  persuasive  eloquence."  The 
Cistercian  monastery  of  Citeaux  had  at- 
tracted his  attention  by  its  reported  austeri- 
ties, and  he  there  entered  into  severest 
self-subjection,  abstaining  from  food,  giving 
himself  to  menial  service,  and  spending 
hours  in  devotion.     The  monastery  grew  in 


THE   MIDDLE   AGES  137 

numbers  and  wealth,  and  within  a  few  years 
he  was  sent  out  to  found  in  a  wild,  secluded 
valley  the  monastery  of  Clairvaux  with 
which  his  name  will  be  forever  associated. 
His  life  was  fruitful  in  literary  and  ecclesias- 
tical activities.  He  was  incessantly  en- 
gaged in  preaching  and  correspondence,  and 
became  in  some  respects  the  most  influential 
man  of  his  age. 

A  century  later,  namely,  in  1 182  A.  D., 
was  born  a  man  of  different  antecedents  and 
gifts,  who  also  became  the  founder  of  a 
great  monastic  order.  Francis  of  Assisi, 
who  has  been,  as  justly  as  any  man,  canon- 
ized by  the  Church,  was  the  son  of  a  rich 
merchant  in  a  village  of  northern  Italy. 
His  father  would  gladly  have  trained  him  to 
the  pursuits  of  trade.  Through  the  years 
of  youth  and  early  manhood  he  was  the 
head  of  a  club  of  gay  companions,  and  was 
as  reckless  as  any.  There  was  in  him,  how- 
ever, with  all  his  frivolity,  an  undercurrent 
of  seriousness  and  upward  impulses  which 
he  could  not  suppress.  A  severe  sickness 
was  followed  by  a  pronounced  transforma- 
tion of  character  and  life,  with  an  ever 
deepening  sincerity,  devoutness  and  humil- 
ity. He  parted  with  every  worldly  posses- 
sion, gave  himself  to  meditation,  austerities 


138  THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

and  to  the  devoted  care  of  the  sick  and 
needy.  He  drew  about  him  a  band  of 
earnest  followers,  whom  he  sent  out  two  by- 
two  as  preachers  of  repentance,  wearing 
coarse  gray  tunics,  literally  without  money, 
and  cheerfully  accepting  the  meanest  lodg- 
ings and  the  simplest  food.  In  1209,  by 
consent  of  the  Pope,  he  formed  an  order 
upon  vows  of  chastity,  poverty  and  obe- 
dience, with  no  purpose  to  retire  from  the 
world,  but  to  enter  it  and  make  conquest  of 
it  for  Christ.  Its  peculiarity  was  its  con- 
tinual poverty,  for  not  only  could  no  friar 
hold  property,  but  possessions  were  also  for- 
bidden to  monasteries. 

Scholasticism  tended  to  break  up  the  men- 
tal stagnation  of  the  dark  ages,  and  although 
it  would  be  out  of  place  and  unproductive 
in  this  modern  period,  it  was  full  of  energy 
and  fruitfulness  in  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth 
centuries.  It  sprang  in  part  out  of  sources 
of  learning  to  which  European  people  had 
finally  gained  access,  and  in  part  out  of  the 
awakening  of  mental  activities  incidental 
to  a  progressive  social  and  religious  life. 
The  learning  of  the  Arabic  schools  of  Spain, 
especially  in  mathematics,  astronomy  and 
medicine;  and  the  imperishable  literature  of 
ancient  Greece  became  the  inheritance  of 


THE   MIDDLE   AGES  139 

the  western  mind  through  the  new  inter- 
course of  nations.  At  the  same  time  men 
of  religious  power  were  inclined  to  apply 
reason  to  theology  by  way  of  systematizing 
and  vindicating  it.  The  motto  of  Scholas- 
ticism was,  "Faith  seeking  knowledge," 
and  its  standing  declaration  was  that  phi- 
losophy is  the  handmaid  of  religion;  and 
that  it  is  capable  of  demonstrating  the 
reasonableness  of  convictions  derived  from 
other  sources.  Working  along  these  lines 
the  schoolmen  were  active  in  study  and 
debate,  and  added  not  a  little  to  the  stock 
of  human  thought.  Some  of  them  mani- 
fested great  acuteness  and  dialectic  skill. 
The  older  universities  at  Athens,  Alexan- 
dria and  Constantinople  had  passed  away, 
but  under  the  auspices  of  the  Church  and 
the  favor  of  monarchs  new  schools  were 
built  up.  The  University  of  Paris,  "Mother 
of  Universities,"  grew  up  in  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury, gradually  broadening  its  course  from 
theology  to  include  the  liberal  arts,  medicine 
and  law.  Not  long  after  was  founded  the 
University  of  Oxford.  It  was  at  such  cen- 
ters of  learning  that  doctors  of  scholastic 
divinity  lectured  to  throngs  of  eager  lis- 
teners. 

Earnest  men  like  Thomas  Aquinas,  Duns 


I40THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

Scotus  and  Anselm,  discussed  such  themes 
as  the  Being  of  God,  the  Incarnation,  the 
Trinity,  the  Relation  of  Faith  to  Reason. 
There  was  an  indulgence  in  refinements  and 
abstruseness  distasteful  to  modern  thinkers, 
and  sometimes  a  literalness  of  interpretation 
absurd  and  barren;  still  they  enunciated 
some  germinal  thoughts  which  were  to  find 
development  in  later  ages.  For  instance, 
as  against  the  hard  and  judicial  theories 
of  the  atonement,  Abelard  suggested  the 
"moral  view"  of  Christ's  work  as  a  manifes- 
tation of  divine  mercy  fitted  to  melt  the 
heart  of  the  sinner  and  win  him  to  a  saved 
life.  Out  of  the  mazes  of  thought  came  also 
the  scholastic  doctrine  of  "Justification"  as 
being  primarily  the  "infusion  of  personal 
righteousness,"  or  the  making  man  in  him- 
self holy  according  to  the  first  demand  of 
moral  law.  In  the  same  way  emphasis  was 
laid  on  the  need  of  a  "living  faith,"  by 
which  the  soul  is  knit  to  God  in  fellowship 
with  Christ, — as  distinguished  from  a  merely 
formal  or  intellectual  credence. 

It  was  almost  a  matter  of  course  that  the 
schoolmen  should  in  an  age  of  crudeness  fall 
into  errors;  and,  indeed,  some  of  their 
errors  have  plagued  the  Church  ever  since; 
such  errors,   for  instance,  as  the  efficacy  of 


THE   MIDDLE   AGES  141 

baptism,  transubstantiation,  the  miraculous 
effect  of  the  mass,  plenary  indulgences  from 
special  acts,  extreme  unction  for  the  dying, 
and  the  moral  worth  of  celibacy. 

In  spite,  however,  of  such  errors  of  thought 
the  ranks  of  scholastics  furnished  some  shin- 
ing examples  of  Christian  character  and 
demonstrate  the  vitality  of  religion  even  in 
so  rude  an  age.  One  of  the  earliest  was 
Anselm,  born  in  Lombardy  in  1033.  He 
was  tenderly  nurtured  by  a  pious  mother,  but 
the  harshness  of  an  unchristian  father  drove 
him  from  home.  He  became  a  monk  in 
Normandy,  and  at  the  age  of  sixty  reluc- 
tantly accepted  the  Archbishopric  of  Can- 
terbury, England.  He  was  distinguished 
for  mildness  of  temper,  inflexibility  of  con- 
science and  for  addiction  to  profound  medi- 
tations, which  he  would  not  forego  even  on 
enforced  travels.     He  died  in  1109. 

Abelard,  of  romantic  history,  born  in  1079, 
presents  a  character  both  strong  and  win- 
some. Educated  in  the  schools  of  Paris,  he 
became  established  there  as  a  teacher  at  the 
age  of  thirty-six,  and  won  to  his  lectures 
crowds  of  enthusiastic  young  men.  His 
course  was  interrupted  by  a  passionate 
attachment  to  the  young  Heloise,  who 
returned  his  devoted  affection.     The  mar- 


142  THE   CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

riage  was  kept  a  secret  lest  his  ecclesiastic 
preferment  should  be  hindered.  A  little 
later  he  was  brutally  attacked  by  Fulbert, 
the  uncle  of  Heloise,  and  was  driven  out  to 
a  solitary  cabin  in  a  retired  place  where 
multitudes  of  students  flocked  to  him. 
Heloise  was  compelled  to  take  the  veil,  and 
Abelard,  after  some  years  in  a  monastery  in 
Brittany,  returned  at  the  age  of  sixty  to 
resume  his  work  at  Paris,  as  a  teacher. 

He  maintained  a  high  character  and  a 
broad  standard  of  thought,  but  was  finally 
banished  for  alleged  heresies.  In  the 
famous  monastery  of  Clugny,  on  the  borders 
of  Burgundy,  the  poor  hunted  man  found  a 
refuge.  A  year  afterward,  namely,  in  1142, 
he  died  at  the  neighboring  priory  of  St. 
Marcellus.  The  bones  of  Abelard  and  the 
ill-fated  Heloise  rest  in  a  common  tomb  in 
the  Cemetery  of  Pere  la  Chaise,  in  Paris. 

Thomas  Aquinas,  born  near  Naples  in 
1225,  was  another  man  of  lofty  character  and 
attainments  for  the  age  in  which  he  lived. 
He  studied  at  Cologne,  and  afterwards 
taught  there,  as  well  as  at  Paris  and  Bologna. 
His  most  important  work,  "the  Sum  of  All 
Theology,"  is  still  cherished  by  the  Cath- 
olic Church  as  the  greatest  of  theological 
teachings.     All  his  lectures  and  even  every 


THE   MIDDLE   AGES  143 

bit  of  writing  was  begun  with  prayer,  and  in 
Hours  of  perplexity  he  made  sincere  appli- 
cation to  God  for  light. 

A  little  later  (1235)  was  born  on  the  Island 
of  Majorca,  Raymond  Lull,  a  scientific 
scholar,  a  profound  theologian,  a  man  of 
extensive  travel,  of  abounding  labors  and  of 
devoted  piety.  Although  all  his  life  he 
had  maintained  vigorous  opposition  to  the 
pantheistic  philosophy  which  had  come 
down  from  the  schools  of  the  Saracens,  he 
labored  with  unwearied  zeal  for  the  conver- 
sion of  the  Saracens  themselves  and  finally 
fell  a  victim  to  a  fanatical  mob  in  Algiers, 
whither  he  had  gone  on  his  apostolic  mis- 
sion. 

It  is  interesting  to  find  developing  out  of 
this  period  of  limitations  and  confusions, 
but  of  vital  faith,  the  sublime  architecture 
of  the  Church.  Under  necessity  for  greater 
space  two  arms  were  thrown  out  from  the 
nave  of  the  basilica,  and  so  unwittingly  the 
ground-plan  a  cross  was  made.  Then  came 
the  uplifting  of  the  roof  for  height  and 
beauty,  appearing  as  Byzantine  in  the  East, 
and  Romanesque  in  the  West,  and  in  north- 
ern Europe  developing  into  the  Norman 
ornamented  arch  of  which  Durham  Cathe- 
dral furnishes  an  example.     Finally,  toward 


144  THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

the  close  of  the  twelfth  century  the  Gothic 
type  with  its  pointed  arch  was  matured, 
within  a  hundred  years  reaching  its  fullest 
excellence  in  delicacy  and  majesty.  Great 
cathedrals  were  begun  in  Northern  France, 
Great  Britain,  and  Germany,  some  of  which 
were  not  to  be  finished  for  many  centuries. 
Upon  these  vast  buildings  not  only  kings 
and  nobles  lavished  their  gifts,  but  the  peo- 
ple also  their  multiplied  offerings,  making 
possible  these  sublime  undertakings.  The 
marvel  of  beauty  and  sublimity  in  these 
Christian  temples  is  set  forth  in  a  descrip- 
tive passage  from  the  pen  of  Cardinal  New- 
man: "The  fair  form  of  Christianity  rose  up 
and  grew  and  expanded  like  a  beautiful 
pageant,  from  north  to  south;  it  was  majes- 
tic, solemn,  bright,  it  was  beautiful  and 
pleasant,  it  was  soothing  to  the  griefs,  it 
was  indulgent  to  the  hopes  of  man;  it  was 
at  once  a  teaching  and  a  worship;  it  had  a 
dogma,  a  mystery,  a  ritual  of  its  own;  it 
had  a  hierarchical  form.  A  brotherhood  of 
holy  pastors,  with  mitre  and  crosses,  and 
uplifted  hand,  walked  forth  and  blessed  and 
ruled  a  joyful  people.  The  crucifix  headed 
the  procession,  and  simple  monks  were  there 
with  hearts  in  prayer,  and  sweet  chants 
resounded,  and  the  holy  Latin  tongue  was 


THE   MIDDLE   AGES  145 

heard,  and  boys  came  forth  in  white,  swing- 
ing censers,  and  the  fragrant  cloud  arose, 
and  mass  was  sung,  and  the  saints  were  in- 
voked; and  day  after  day,  and  in  the  still 
night,  and  over  the  woody  hills  and  in  the 
quiet  plains,  as  constantly  as  sun  and  moon 
and  stars  go  forth  in  heaven,  so  regular  and 
solemn  was  the  stately  march  of  blessed 
services  on  earth,  high  festival  and  gorgeous 
procession  and  soothing  dirge  and  passing 
bell,  and  the  familiar  evening  call  to 
prayer." 

The  development  of  Church  architecture 
was  in  accordance  with  the  maturing  of  ec- 
clesiastic tendencies.  Some  of  the  great 
movements  of  this  period  originated  apart 
from  priestly  inspirations,  yet  all  the  time 
there  was  immense  activity  within  the 
organized  Church.  Through  the  centuries 
there  was  a  persistent,  calculating,  power- 
ful effort  to  make  the  Church  dominant  in 
the  personal,  social  and  political  affairs  of 
all  Europe.  Some  of  those  who  came  to 
the  papal  throne  were  weak  and  wicked;  not 
a  few  were  shrewd  and  forceful;  a  smaller 
number  were  sincere  and  devoted.  On  the 
whole  there  was  much  to  mar  the  record  of 
formal  Christianity,  much  that  was  fright- 
fully out  of  keeping  with  the  character  and 


146  THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

methods  of  the  Master.  But  the  sad  chap- 
ters have  been  written,  and  must  be  read  by 
any  one  who  would  understand  the  drift  and 
the  struggles  of  this  and  of  later  periods. 

In  return  for  his  defense  of  Church  insti- 
tutions popes  gave  Charlemagne  their  oaths 
of  allegiance,  and  accepted  from  him  ad- 
monitions as  to  duty,  and  even  instruction 
as  to  doctrine — always  keeping  in  abeyance, 
however,  schemes  for  ecclesiastical  aggran- 
dizement. The  successors  of  the  great 
Emperor,  though  attempting  to  exercise  the 
same  influence  in  church  affairs,  had  weaker 
hands,  and  the  Pontiffs  took  advantage  of 
every  disorder  to  assert  their  own  independ- 
ence, and  even  to  meddle  with  imperial 
politics  and  with  the  administration  of  jus- 
tice; their  authority  often  defying  that  of 
the  secular  courts.  At  the  same  time  the 
appeal  of  various  emperors  to  papal  sanction 
for  some  personal  advantage  tended  to  for- 
tify their  claims  to  jurisdiction  in  temporal 
affairs. 

^The  whole  movement  of  the  age,  con- 
scious and/  unconscious,  was  toward  papal 
supremacy.  Pious  people  hoped  for  much 
from  the  authority  of  the  Church,  as  ex- 
pressed through  its  official  head.  Espe- 
cially did  they  look  to  it  to  subdue  factious 


"    THE   MIDDLE   AGES  147 

disturbers.  Attempts  were  therefore  made 
to  build  up  in  the  minds  of  men  a  reverence 
for  its  divinely  constituted  organization. 
Editors  of  ecclesiastical  laws  strove  to  add 
the  dignity  and  authority  of  ancient  tradi- 
tion to  the  claims  by  which  the  successor  of 
St.  Peter  held  his  high  office.  Some  of  the 
forgeries  were  clumsy  and  stand  self-con- 
victed by  their  patent  anachronisms;  but 
that  was  an  uncritical  age,  and  the  docu- 
ments passed  for  the  time  unchallenged. 
Their  whole  aim  was  to  establish  the  priest- 
hood as  supreme  and  as  free  from  secular 
control;  and  to  this  end  there  was  set  forth 
in  these  forged  decretals  a  system  of  graded 
orders, — priests,  bishops  and  metropolitans, 
— up  to  the  Primate,  without  whose  sanction 
no  verdict  could  stand.  The  most  ambi- 
tious claims  of  scheming  pontiffs  were  set 
forth  in  spurious  letters  and  decrees,  to 
which  the  venerated  names  of  early  bishops 
were  attached. 

At  the  same  time  the  influence  of  the 
clergy  was  greatly  enhanced  on  the  political 
side  by  reason  of  the  feudal  system  of  which 
many  ecclesiastics  took  advantage.  Bish- 
ops were  made  counts  and  dukes,  and  so 
were  enabled  to  exercise  within  their  dio- 
ceses the  privileges  and  powers  of  secular 


148  THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

lords,    and   were   occasionally   as  guilty  as 
they  of  violence  and  intrigue. 

At  times  the  Pope  came  into  open  conflict 
with  the  emperor,  and  not  unfrequently  the 
result  was  the  humiliation  of  the  supreme 
Pontiff;  yet  in  great  crises  success  generally 
rested  with  the  representative  of  the  Church. 
Henry  IV.  of  Germany  was  compelled  to 
cross  the  Alps  to  Canossa  in  dead  of  winter, 
and  in  the  garb  of  a  penitent  appeal  for 
clemency  at  the  feet  of  Gregory  VII.  A 
hundred  years  later  the  great  Frederick  I. 
was  forced  to  bow  at  the  feet  of  Pope  Alex- 
ander, to  be  raised  from  the  ground  only  by 
permission  of  the  gracious  Pontiff.  The 
struggle  of  Frederick  II.  to  subjugate  the 
Pope,  overthrow  the  whole  hierarchical  sys- 
tem and  bring  the  Church  back  to  the  sim- 
plicity of  the  apostles, — as  he  put  it, —  was 
fierce  and  prolonged;  but  he  was  too  far  in 
advance  of  an  age  in  which  the  idea  pre- 
vailed that  the  Church  must  be  a  world- 
power,  and  his  efforts  were  fruitless.  The 
Pope  pushed  the  implacable  warfare  not 
only  up  to  the  death  of  the  monarch  who 
had  been  the  "wonder  of  the  world,"  but 
also  against  the  son  who  succeeded  him. 
All  the  popes  accepted  the  argument  which 
gave  them  authority  in    temporal  matters. 


THE   MIDDLE   AGES  149 

They  reasoned  that  if  as  successors  of  St. 
Peter  they  had  the  power  of  the  "keys  of 
heaven"  very  much  more  had  they  the 
right  to  administer  earthly  affairs,  and  so 
they  asserted  in  broadest  terms  the  claims 
of  Rome  to  subordinate  all  secular  interests 
to  her  jurisdiction.  In  the  motives  of  the 
various  pontiffs  there  was  a  mixture  of  craft, 
hardness  and  pride,  with  much  sincere  de- 
votion to  an  institution  which  stood  for  right 
and  religion.  Innocent  III.,  "the  greatest 
in  the  long  line  of  popes,"  in  whose  reign 
the  papacy  reached  the  very  summit  of  its 
power,  maintained  that  the  "crowns  of  kings 
and  the  destinies  of  nations  were  lodged  by 
divine  decree"  in  the  hands  of  the  Pope. 
■^  As  at  the  adoption  of  Christianity  by  Con- 
stantine,  and  at  the  crowning  of  Charle- 
magne in  the  basilica  at  Rome,  this  period, 
which  closed  in  the  acknowledgment  of 
papal  supremacy,  presents  a  peculiar  prob- 
lem to  the  student  of  history.  Was  it  to 
the  advantage  or  disadvantage  of  Christian 
civilization  that  there  should  have  been  such 
a  centralization  of  power  in  the  Roman 
Church? 

On  the  unfavorable  side  it  is  to  be  said 
that  the  system  put  human  nature  to  too 
great  a  strain,  the  very  best  of  the  popes 


ISO  THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

becoming  proud,  autocratic  and  persistent. 
It  is  to  be  recognized  also  that  the  oppor- 
tunities for  gaining  wealth  and  influence 
tempted  bad  men  to  scheme  for  office,  and 
having  secured  it  to  abuse  it  scandalously. 
And,  further,  it  seriously  disturbed  the  free 
and  independent  action  of  responsible  offi- 
cials in  the  city  and  state. 

On  the  favorable  side  are  two  results  most 
difficult  to  secure  in  such  a  broken  condi- 
tion as  prevailed  throughout  Europe,  but 
which  were  the  actual  products  of  this  huge 
ecclesiastical  system;  they  were  unity  in 
the  Church,  and  social  stability.  The  times 
were  troublous  for  all  institutions,  and  it  is 
possible  that  if  the  Church  had  been  divided 
into  separate  national  branches  it  might 
have  been  submerged  beneath  political 
contentions  and  national  changes.  The 
strength  and  steadiness  of  so  great  a  body 
proved  its  safety,  and  tided  it  over  to  more 
settled  times.  This  is  the  conclusion  of 
Guizot,  a  philosophical  student  of  history 
and  a  Protestant.  "If  Christianity  had  been 
no  more  than  a  belief,  a  sentiment,  an  indi- 
vidual conviction,  it  would  have  sunk  amidst 
the  dissolution  of  the  Empire  and  the  inva- 
sion of  barbarians."  This  was  certainly  its 
fate  in  Asia  and  North  Africa,  where  it  was 


THE   MIDDLE   AGES  151 

swept  under  by  the  tide  of  Mohammedanism 
"A  society  strongly  organized  and  strongly 
governed  was  indispensable"  to  a  success- 
ful struggle  against  repeated  disasters.  "It 
was  the  Church  that  saved  Christianity,  it 
was  the  Church  with,  its  institutions,  its 
magistrates  and  its  power  that  became  the 
bond,  the  medium  and  principle  of  civiliza- 
tion between  the  Roman  and  the  Teutonic 
worlds." 


CHAPTER  V 

LOOKING  TOWARD  REFORMATION 

Writing  of  the  unsettled  condition  of 
society  during  the  middle  ages  Guizot  says: 
"It  was  the  barbarian  epoch;  it  was  the 
chaos  of  all  elements,  the  infancy  of  all  sys- 
tems, a  universal  turmoil  in  which  even  strife 
was  not  permanent  and  systematic."  To 
an  observer  going  back  from  our  own  fruit- 
ful century  it  was  the  day  of  misrule  and  of 
perversion.  The  Christianity  which  ought 
to  have  been  dominant  for  good  appeared 
outwardly  in  the  supremacy  of  a  huge  eccle- 
siastical organization,  itself  overtopped  by  a 
ruthless  potentate.  In  every  struggle  up  to 
the  close  of  the  thirteenth  century  the 
papacy  had  been  successful.  Fearful  con- 
tests had  been  waged  even  within  the  lines 
of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire,  and  in  every 
instance  the  issue  had  been  to  the  seeming 
advantage  of  the  Pope.  Henry  IV.  and 
Frederick  I.  and  II.  had  been  worthy  and 
powerful  emperors,  but  after  persistent  oppo- 
sition to  ecclesiastical  demands  from  Rome 
they  had  in  turn  to  cross  the  Alps  and  kneel 
152 


TOWARD   REFORMATION        153 

as  suppliants  for  forgiveness  and  absolution. 
But  at  the  beginning  of  the  fourteenth  cen- 
tury we  discover  the  play  of  new  forces  in 
society,  all  adverse  to  the  papal  domination, 
and  favorable  to  freedom  and  development 
in  both  Church  and  state. 

Physicians  of  the  present  enlightened  age 
depend  upon  the  vis  medicatrix  iiaturce^  ask- 
ing only  that  life  may  be  prolonged  while 
the  operation  of  the  natural  forces  makes 
for  recovery.  So  in  the  composite  life  of 
humanity  there  are  vital  forces  which  in  the 
slow  process  of  time,  work  toward  convales- 
cence. In  the  healing  of  society,  not  even 
is  careful  nursing  required,  for  however 
deep-seated  the  disease  preying  upon  social 
life,  it  will  ultimately  exhaust  itself,  and  in 
due  time  the  process  of  repair  will  begin. 
This  is  a  beneficent  provision  of  nature. 
As  the  marred  tree  throws  out  new  tissues 
to  protect  itself  from  the  waste  of  vital  sap; 
as  the  wounded  animal  recovers  uncared  for 
in  his  forest  lair;  as  a  human  being  mends 
at  the  turn  of  the  fever,  so  society,  wounded 
by  cruel  oppressions  and  poisoned  by  in- 
fluences morally  impure  waits  for  a  passing 
crisis  and  then  enters  on  the  path  of  recov- 
ery. 

During  the  centuries  that  intervened  be- 


154  THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

tween  the  earlier  order  of  things,  under  the 
Grecian  and  Roman  types  of  government 
and  civilization  and  the  new  order  of  things 
when  modern  ideas  began  to  prevail,  there 
were  gigantic  wrongs  and  abuses.  But  as 
we  come  to  the  close  of  the  thirteenth  cen- 
tury we  are  conscious  that  they  have  nearly 
run  their  course,  that  mankind  is  beginning 
to  recognize  the  causes  of  evil,  and  to  strug- 
gle toward  a  freer  and  healthier  condition 
of  social  life. 

An  illustration  of  this  natural  process  of 
regeneration  is  found  in  the  collapse  of 
feudalism.  In  its  conflict  with  the  rights  of 
kings  and  the  claims  of  popes  it  suffered 
many  a  defeat,  giving  way  at  last  before  the 
political  progress  of  the  whole  common- 
wealth, and  the  growing  manhood  of  those 
who  had  been  dependants  of  the  castle-lord. 
This  occurred  again  and  again  when  a  king 
overstepped  his  bounds  and  struck  at  the 
rights  of  the  governed;  as,  for  instance, 
when  the  barons  of  England  wrung  the 
Magna  Charta  from  the  tyrant  John. 

It  is  precisely  this  natural  process  which 
the  student  of  history  follows  with  delight 
from  the  end  of  the  thirteenth  to  the  begin- 
ning of  the  sixteenth  century,  when  the 
result  has  become  no  longer  doubtful.    Dur- 


TOWARD  REFORMATION       155 

ing  this  fascinating  period  latent  forces  and 
hidden  movements  come  to  light,  and  we 
discover  that  even  while  evil  and  designing 
men  were  congratulating  themselves  on  the 
success  of  their  schemes  for  the  completer 
subjection  of  the  masses,  the  minds,  con- 
sciences and  hearts  of  the  so-called  lower 
orders  were  really  being  quickened  for  the 
overthrow  of  the  evil  system  by  virtue  of 
which  their  oppressors  were  in  power.  All 
these  outworkings  of  human  society  were  as 
normal  as  the  unfolding  of  a  flower  or  the 
evolution  of  a  higher  type  of  animal  life. 

There  was,  for  instance,  a  growing  spirit 
of  nationality  which  was  quite  at  variance 
with  the  Pope's  assumed  right  to  interfere 
in  the  affairs  of  people  living  hundreds  of 
leagues  from  Rome.  Government  became 
more  and  more  centralized,  and  the  process 
by  which  since  the  beginning  of  time  great 
nations  have  been  built  around  a  central 
authority  went  on  beyond  the  English  Chan- 
nel and  on  both  sides  of  the  Rhine.  This 
sense  of  autonomy  grew  with  the  develop- 
ment of  a  new  idea  of  monarchy.  The 
division  of  the  territory  among  feudal  lords 
had  proved  to  be  greatly  to  the  disadvantage 
of  the  people,  and  they  were  becoming  more 
and  more  ready  to  acknowledge  the  King 


iS6  THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

and  uphold  his  authority.  Now,  as  we  shall 
see,  the  King  and  the  Pope  did  not  readily- 
come  to  terms.  There  was  an  irrepressible 
conflict  between  them  which  in  many  lands 
lessened  the  papal  sway,  and  in  one  great 
nation  issued  in  an  irrepressible  schism  with 
the  Romish  hierarchy. 

There  were  certain  other  developments 
which  in  subtle  ways  tended  to  undermine 
the  power  of  the  Pontiff.  Owing  to  the 
growth  of  cities  and  the  swiftly  moving  cur- 
rents of  municipal  life  society  was  not  so 
easily  influenced  by  papal  bans  and  pro- 
scriptions; upspringing  commerce  aroused 
the  energies  and  diverted  the  sentiments  of 
many  from  the  exercises  of  religion  which 
the  Church,  often  with  hard  and  selfish  cal- 
culation, had  turned  to  her  own  account. 
Personal  independence  was  developed,  also, 
by  the  great  increase  of  intelligence,  and  the 
awakening  of  all  the  faculties  by  which  men 
give  free  and  bold  consideration  to  the  prob- 
lems of  life  and  to  the  rights  of  humanity. 

The  story  of  this  period  flows  on  without 
interruption.  The  character  and  conduct 
of  the  popes  tended  more  and  more  to 
awaken  shame,  calling  the  attention  of  great 
leaders  to  the  inconsistency  of  such  lives 
with  the  claims  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  and 


TOWARD  REFORMATION       157 

spreading  distrust  more  and  more  widely 
among  the  people.  At  the  same  time,  in 
blind  folly,  ecclesiastic  leaders  rushed  into 
fruitless  controversies  with  political  powers. 
The  fourteenth  century  opens  with  Boniface 
VIII.  newly  come  to  office  and  inclined  like 
Gregory  VII.  and  Innocent  III.  to  make  the 
Church  absolute  in  all  the  affairs  of  man- 
kind. He  was  ready  to  manipulate  political 
forces  everywhere  in  order  to  further  his 
own  schemes  for  the  aggrandizement  of  the 
Church  of  Rome.  He  meddled  with  affairs 
in  Sicily,  and  interfered  in  the  dispute  be- 
tween Philip  the  Fair  of  France  and  Edward 
I.  of  England,  but  succeeded  only  in  arous- 
ing opposition.  He  attempted  to  compel 
recognition  by  cutting  off  sources  of  revenue, 
forbidding  the  taxation  of  ecclesiastics. 
Philip  resisted  the  attack  on  his  kingly 
authority,  and  retorted  with  an  edict  for- 
bidding the  exportation  of  gold  and  silver 
from  his  realm  without  the  royal  sanction, 
while  in  Edward's  kingdom  protection  was 
withdrawn  from  the  clergy  who  obeyed  the 
Pope's  demand,  bringing  them  speedily  to 
terms.  Changing  front,  Boniface  acted  for 
the  time  simply  as  an  unofficial  individual, 
and  attempted  to  arbitrate  between  the  two 
kings;  but  Philip  was  dissatisfied  with  the 


158   THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

award  and  consequently  received  at  his  court 
princes  of  Italy  who  were  in  hostility  to  the 
Pope,  being  sustained  in  every  movement 
by  able  lawyers,  who  resisted  the  encroach- 
ments of  the  papacy  and  buttressed  the 
crown  in  its  prerogatives. 

After  four  years  had  passed  Boniface 
found  new  ground  for  a  fierce  attack  on  the 
French  monarch,  and  issued  a  decree  that 
made  salvation  depend  on  the  belief  that 
every  one  is  subject  to  the  Pope.  The  clergy 
of  France  were  summoned  to  Rome  to  sit 
in  judgment  on  the  rebellious  King.  The 
days  of  humiliation  for  earthly  potentates, 
however,  were  over,  and  Philip  promptly 
retaliated  by  forbidding  them  to  leave  his 
realm,  and  later  by  sending  messengers  to 
heap  insults  upon  the  Pope.  The  utter  fail- 
ure of  all  his  efforts  to  subjugate  these  kings 
of  earth  to  his  sway  brought  to  the  aged 
Pontiff  the  deepest  chagrin,  and  did  not  a 
little  to  hasten  his  death.  His  whole  admin- 
istration had  been  a  pitiable  failure,  and 
gave  rise  and  currency  to  the  epigram:  "He 
came  in  like  a  fox,  reigned  like  a  lion,  and 
died  like  a  dog." 

This  was  more  than  a  personal  failure,  for 
it  stirred  up  the  learned  everywhere  to  con- 
sider the  whole  question  of  the  relation  of 


TOWARD   REFORMATION       159 

the  Church  to  the  state;  and  while  the 
supremacy  of  the  Pope  was  maintained  by 
rigid  churchmen,  the  notion  was  gaining 
adherents  that  the  spiritual  and  temporal 
powers  are  distinct  and  independent,  each 
alike  being  ordained  of  God,  and  that  the 
king  therefore  has  in  civil  matters  no  supe- 
rior. Dante  wrote  in  defence  of  the  rule  of 
one  for  the  good  of  the  many,  maintaining 
that  in  order  to  enjoy  peace,  justice,  liberty, 
men  must  unite  under  a  monarch.  To  this 
end  the  Pope  ought  to  limit  his  prerogatives 
to  the  guidance  of  men's  souls,  leaving  to 
emperors  the  exclusive  concern  for  temporal 
affairs.  The  book  naturally  had  the  great- 
est influence  in  Italy,  but  it  provoked  earn- 
est discussion  elsewhere,  especially  in 
Germany,  where  the  foundation  of  civil 
authority  was  under  consideration. 

In  the  reign  of  the  second  successor  from 
Boniface  VIII.  we  come  to  an  event  of  mo- 
ment. The  new  Pope  forsook  Rome  for 
Avignon,  on  the  borders  of  France,  and  be- 
gan what,  because  of  this  foreign  residence, 
became  known  as  "The  Babylonian  Cap- 
tivity." From  this  time  the  prestige  of  the 
papacy  declined  as  rapidly  as  it  had  risen, 
for  in  its  new  habitation  it  became  really 
enslaved  to  France  and  was  administered  in 


i6o   THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

her  interests.  Pope  Clement  V.  stood  out 
before  all  Europe  as  the  embodiment  of 
degrading  subserviency.  With  reference  to 
elections  and  political  movements  in  Ger- 
many, England  and  other  Catholic  countries, 
he  was  bold  and  aggressive,  but  toward 
France,  his  master,  he  was  cringing  and 
abject. 

After  Clement  came  John  XXII.,  who  had 
no  end  of  troubles,  both  political  and  eccle- 
siastical. He  came  into  conflict  with  the 
King  of  Bavaria,  whom  he  anathematized; 
and  then  had  his  bans  laughed  at  in  Ger- 
many, and  disregarded  by  the  electors  whom 
he  had  summoned  with  highest  papal  author- 
ity to  depose  the  King  and  elect  a  successor. 
At  the  same  time  he  was  in  open  rupture 
with  the  Franciscans,  who,  with  all  their 
mistakes  and  limitations,  were  representa- 
tives of  a  pure  and  benevolent  type  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  were  generally  held  in  highest 
esteem.  The  result  of  this  contest  was  a 
treatise  by  one  of  the  greatest  Franciscan 
scholars  of  the  age,  in  which  it  was  declared 
that  the  unity  of  the  Church  is  to  be  found 
in  Christ  and  not  in  any  single  primate,  and 
it  is  added  that  the  only  infallibility  in 
matters  of  faith  and  morals  is  to  be  found  in 
the  Holy  Scriptures. 


TOWARD   REFORMATION       i6i 

Other  powerful  writings  were  called  out 
in  which  were  given  a  history  of  papal  pre- 
tensions and  a  repudiation  of  the  claims  so 
long  made  for  temporal  jurisdiction.  The 
supreme  authority  of  the  state  was  set  forth, 
as  constituted  by  the  whole  body  of  citizens. 
They  were  affirmed  to  have  the  power  to 
elect  their  own  ruler  and  to  summon  their 
own  council  for  the  determination  of  diffi- 
cult questions.  The  sole  function  of  the 
priesthood  was  defined  to  be  the  teaching 
of  the  truths  of  Scripture,  and  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  sacraments;  and  the  preten- 
sions of  those  self-styled  successors  to  the 
supremacy  of  Peter  were  set  over  against  the 
simplicity  of  the  Church  of  the  apostles. 
The  world  is  not  startled  to-day  by  such 
ideas,  but  at  that  time  they  were  not  only 
new  but  revolutionary.  They  were  scat- 
tered as  seed  from  the  hand  of  the  sower,  to 
lodge  in  the  minds  of  men,  and  in  due  time 
to  bring  forth  an  abundant  harvest. 

The  successors  of  John  at  Avignon  contin- 
ued his  policy  of  undisguised  hostility  to 
the  various  political  parties  in  Germany  and 
to  religious  thinkers  everywhere.  They 
raised  revenues  by  extortion  and  usurpa- 
tion, and  thereby  maintained  their  courts 
in   luxury  and  profligacy,  as  is  vividly  de- 


i62   THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

picted   by   so  observant   an    eye-witness  as 
Petrarch. 

Across  the  channel  there  was  growing  up 
a  spirit  of  resistance  to  the  papacy,  which 
was  naturally  increased  by  its  marked  sub- 
serviency to  the  interests  of  France.  Ed- 
ward III.,  one  of  the  noblest  of  English 
sovereigns,  issued  two  significant  edicts,  the 
first  being  to  the  effect  that  it  devolved 
upon  the  king  to  fill  Church  offices,  and  the 
second  declaring  that  his  subjects  were 
not  to  make  direct  appeal  to  any  foreign 
tribunal  in  any  matter  which  fell  under 
the  king's  jurisdiction.  These  notable  de- 
crees put  the  Pope  to  great  straits,  inas- 
much as  his  ally,  the  King  of  France,  was 
unable  to  furnish  him  support  and  pro- 
tection. 

The  so-called  Babylonian  captivity  lasted, 
as  the  Jewish  one  had  done,  about  seventy 
years.  In  1377  the  Pope  returned  to  Rome, 
where  in  the  following  years  his  successor. 
Urban  VI.,  was  elected.  Urban  at  once  broke 
with  France  by  refusing  to  betake  himself 
to  Avignon;  whereupon  the  college  of  car- 
dinals at  Anagni  elected  a  new  pope,  declar- 
ing the  election  of  Urban  invalidated  on 
account  of  violence.  Now  begins  the  story 
of  an  absurd,  not  to  say  disgraceful,   divi- 


TOWARD   REFORMATION       163 

sion  of  the  infallible  authority  of  the  head  of 
the  Roman  Church,  for  Urban  immediately 
created  a  new  college  of  twenty-eight  car- 
dinals, making  confusion  worse  confounded. 
The  appeal  to  the  various  powers  of  Europe 
in  these  schismatic  divisions  was  made  not 
to  the  sense  of  justice,  but  rather  to  the 
political  feelings  of  the  various  European 
powers,  by  which  alone  their  attitude  was 
determined.  Germany,  Italy,  England  and 
Flanders  sided  with  Urban,  while  France, 
Scotland  and  Spain  supported  the  Pope  of 
the  second  election. 

The  schism  went  on  from  year  to  year, 
from  decade  to  decade,  to  the  unspeakable 
shame  of  the  Roman  Church.  There  were 
two  claimants  for  the  transmitted  supremacy 
of  St.  Peter,  each  assuming  to  be  clothed 
with  absolute  and  righteous  authority  and 
each  bitterly  hostile  to  the  other.  In  course 
of  time  each  pope  had  a  worthy  successor, 
and  a  new  generation  became  the  inheritor 
of  trouble  and  scandal.  Various  efforts 
were  made  to  heal  the  breach.  The  great 
university  of  Paris  undertook  to  devise  some 
way  out  of  the  embarrassment,  but  in  vain. 
Each  pope,  with  the  backing  of  his  own  col- 
lege of  cardinals,  professed  to  be  conscien- 
tiously  convinced   of   the   righteousness  of 


i64   THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

his  cause  and  therefore  unable  to  make  con- 
cessions. 

When  matters  could  become  no  worse  a 
general  council  was  summoned,  which  met 
at  Pisa  in  March,  1409.  It  represented 
most  of  the  catholic  countries.  Its  first 
work  was  to  depose  the  schismatic  popes 
and  unite  the  rival  colleges  of  cardinals. 
Many  in  the  council  wished  to  reform  the 
church  "in  head  and  members,"  in  order  to 
put  an  end  to  ecclesiastical  corruption  and 
the  abuse  of  papal  power;  but  the  majority- 
had  been  educated  to  the  idea  of  papal 
supremacy  and  questioned  the  right  of  the 
Council  to  go  further  in  the  matter  of  reform 
except  under  the  leadership  of  a  new  pope. 
The  conservative  party  was  supported  by 
many  of  the  cardinals,  who  feared  that  the 
movement  would  become  revolutionary. 
Accordingly  an  election  was  held  as  the 
first  legitimate  step  toward  the  needed  re- 
forms, but  no  sooner  was  the  new  Pope  in 
office,  than  he  was  beset  by  a  horde  of  claim- 
ants for  the  benefices  at  his  disposal.  Re- 
garding these  gifts  as  the  legitimate  spoils 
of  office,  he  rejoiced  in  the  distribution  of 
favors,  and  kept  putting  off  the  reform 
party  until  a  great  opportunity  was  lost.  In 
consequence  of  this  failure  at  reform  things 


TOWARD   REFORMATION       165 

ran  on  in  the  old  way  for  another  century. 
A  few  important  concessions  were  indeed 
made,  and  some  specious  promises  went 
upon  record,  but  the  Council  was  dissolved 
without  opportunity  for  mature  deliberation 
on  the  terrible  exigencies  of  the  time. 

Moreover,  absurd  as  it  may  appear,  the 
old  schism  went  on  without  a  break,  save 
that  now  instead  of  two  rival  popes  there 
were  three.  The  new  Pope,  who  had  been 
chosen  to  head  a  reform  movement,  fell 
under  the  influence  of  a  cardinal  who  had 
begun  life  as  a  pirate,  and  who  had  only  so 
far  reformed  as  to  wear  the  red  hat.  This 
prince  of  schemers  succeeded  at  last,  though 
with  as  great  a  number  of  crimes  laid  to  his 
charge  as  to  that  of  any  successor,  in  plac- 
ing himself  in  the  seat  originally  vacated  by 
the  martyrdom  of  the  apostle  Peter. 

With  all  his  hardihood  this  new  Pope, 
John  XXIII.,  could  not  maintain  absolute 
control  against  conflicting  forces,  and  was 
compelled  to  yield  to  the  demand  for 
another  general  Council,  which,  however,  he 
planned  to  control  in  his  own  interests. 
The  Council  was  one  of  note.  It  met  at 
Constance,  November,  1414.  Earnest  men 
in  its  membership  were  eager  to  put  an 
instant  end   to  the  schism  and  the  scandals 


i66  THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

of  the  Church,  and  toward  this  conclusion 
came  no  small  pressure  from  the  work  of 
such  leaders  of  thought  as  John  Wyclif 
among  the  dead,  and  John  Hus  among  the 
living.  The  Council  was  protracted  from 
the  fall  of  1414  to  the  spring  of  1418,  and 
was  "the  most  brilliant  and  imposing  of  the 
ecclesiastical  assemblies  of  the  middle  ages." 
There  were  hosts  of  bishops,  doctors,  and 
jurists,  besides  an  unexampled  array  of 
sovereigns  and  nobles.  To  these  constit- 
uent elements  of  the  great  body  were  added 
not  fewer  than  fifty  thousand  people  drawn 
by  various  motives  to  the  city  to  witness  the 
proceedings. 

The  pirate  Pope,  the  latest  claimant  for 
pontifical  honors,  thought  to  secure  first  of 
all  a  confirmation  of  the  Pisa  Council,  held 
five  years  before,  which  deposed  his  two 
rivals,  and  then  to  occupy  the  time  of  the 
Council  with  consideration  of  the  dangerous 
heresies  of  Hus  and  Wyclif,  thus  baffling 
any  serious  attempts  at  reform.  He  failed 
ignominiously.  His  plans  fell  to  the  ground, 
and  he  became  a  terrified  fugitive.  In  a 
few  months  he  was  solemnly  deposed  from 
office.  Not  long  after  this,  one  of  his  rivals 
gave  up  the  struggle  and  resigned,  leaving 
only  the  obstinate  Benedict  as  Pope  de  facto. 


TOWARD   REFORMATION       167 

The  Council  made  fruitless  efforts  to  nego- 
tiate with  the  incumbent,  but  ended  by  a 
formal  deposition,  thus  bringing  to  a  close 
a  schism  which  had  perplexed  and  disgraced 
the  Church  for  thirty  years. 

It  required  no  small  energy  to  bring  this 
to  pass;  but  still  there  was  reserved  sufficient 
force  to  deal  rigorously  with  the  heretics  of 
Bohemia.  Hus  came  at  their  call,  under 
the  safe  conduct  of  Emperor  Sigismund,  and 
with  assurances  that  he  would  be  given  a 
fair  hearing  against  all  accusers.  It  has  sel- 
dom been  considered  necessary  to  keep  faith 
with  heretics;  the  promises  of  fair  dealing 
went  for  nothing,  and  Hus  was  compelled 
to  await  in  prison  the  issue  of  the  mock  trial. 
The  Council  had  some  difficulty  in  hitting 
upon  just  the  statement  of  Hus  which  would 
furnish  plausible  ground  for  condemnation, 
but  at  last  they  planted  themselves  on  his 
denial  of  supreme  authority  to  the  Church, 
although  he  had  supported  his  views  with 
reverent  appeals  to  the  Scriptures.  The 
reform  party  might  go  so  far  as  to  dethrone 
a  pope  who  disgraced  his  office,  but  they 
still  stood  firmly  by  the  doctrine  of  hier- 
archical authority.  The  climax  was  reached 
when  with  mob-like  violence,  in  strong  con- 
trast with  the  noble  serenity  of  their  victim, 


i68  THE   CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

the  Council  condemned  Hus  to  be  burnt  at 
the  stake. 

Returning  to  the  regular  business  in  hand, 
the  Council  proceeded  to  the  election  of  a 
pope  whose  solitary  grandeur  was  to  make 
good  that  of  his  three  co-ordinate  predeces- 
sors. The  somewhat  prolonged  process 
resulted  in  the  elevation  to  high  office  of  an 
Italian,  Martin  V.,  who  was  speedily  found 
to  be  strenuous  in  maintaining  the  suprem- 
acy of  papal  authority  and  in  combating  all 
attempts  at  reform  of  abuses.  It  remained, 
therefore,  for  the  Council  to  pass  some  res- 
olutions, and  to  adjourn  with  the  conviction 
established  in  the  minds  of  all  earnest  men 
that  the  attempt  had  been  on  the  whole  a 
stupendous  failure,  and  that  deeper  and 
more  radical  work  was  needed  for  the  real 
purification  of  the  Church. 

The  new  Pope  sought,  with  some  show  of 
success,  to  regain  prerogatives  in  France 
and  in  the  Roman  states,  but  altogether 
failed  in  England.  In  Bohemia  he  found 
that  the  Hussite  movement,  in  spite  of  the 
leader's  martyrdom,  had  gained  considerable 
headway,  a  powerful  party  going  even  fur- 
ther than  Hus,  in  demanding  full  com- 
munion for  the  laity,  denying  transubstan- 
tiation,    and   rejecting   any  authority  which 


TOWARD   REFORMATION       169 

claimed  superiority  to  that  of  Scripture. 
Opposition  had  carried  their  enthusiasm 
over  to  fanaticism,  making  them  stubborn 
in  resistance  to  popery. 

As  usual  in  such  cases,  Bohemia  was 
ravaged  with  war;  but  the  heretics  remained 
unsubdued.  The  fruitlessness  of  persecu- 
tion led  to  the  calling  of  the  Council  of 
Basel.  The  Bohemians  were  invited  to  a 
free  discussion,  and  thus  was  secured  by 
guile  what  violence  had  failed  to  win;  for 
the  discussion  resulted  in  certain  concessions 
on  the  part  of  the  Church,  which  unhappily 
divided  the  Bohemians  into  two  fiercely 
antagonistic  parties  on  the  question  of  ac- 
cepting these  compromises.  The  Council 
having  thus  thrown  into  the  hostile  camp  an 
apple  of  discord,  continued  its  own  exis- 
tence for  some  years  with  violent  dissentions 
and  in  conflict  with  the  Pope,  dissolving  at 
last  in  1449,  ^o  t^^  immense  relief  of  all 
parties  concerned. 

The  Jubilee  Year,  1450,  found  Rome 
crowded  by  bands  of  holy  pilgrims.  On 
the  papal  throne  sat  Nicholas  V.,  aged 
and  broken,  but  full  of  plans  for  strengthen- 
ing the  pontifical  authority  in  Rome  and 
throughout  the  lands  of  the  Church.  He 
had  erected  fortresses  here  and  there;  had 


170  THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

collected  a  vast  number  of  manuscripts 
(founding  indeed  the  Vatican  Library);  and 
had  attempted  in  various  ways  to  make 
Rome  the  missionary  of  culture  to  Europe; 
hoping  by  the  combination  of  force  and 
learning  to  regain  the  prestige  of  the  hier- 
archy. ^  But  Rome  was  unappreciative  and 
broke  out  into  open  rebellion;  while  in  the 
East  Constantinople,  his  hoped-for  ally,  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  unspeakable  Turk;  so 
that  all  his  projects  for  giving  strength  and 
stability  to  the  papal  power  came  to  naught, 
leaving  him  only  two  years  of  embittered 
life. 

Succeeding  popes  made  attempts  in  the 
same  direction,  but  the  moral  force  of  the 
papacy  was  no  longer  potent.  It  had  been 
too  long  fatally  untrue  to  its  trust.  Rival 
kings  and  princes  refused  to  harmonize  their 
differences  at  its  bidding,  and  the  infidel 
invader  threatened  the  borders  of  Christen- 
dom without  arousing  the  ardor  of  resistance 
and  the  union  of  sentiments  displayed  in 
the  days  of  the  Crusades.  Religious  feel- 
ings and  motives  had  ceased  to  have  sway 
over  the  hearts  of  men,  and  the  high  officials 
of  the  Church  were  unwilling  to  recover 
ground  in  the  only  possible  way,  by  repent- 
ance and  genuine  reform. 


TOWARD   REFORMATION       171 

Sixtus  IV.,  who  came  to  the  throne  with 
the  beginning  of  the  last  third  of  the  cen- 
tury, recognized  the  weakness  of  the  papacy, 
but  like  his  predecessors  failed  to  give  it 
moral  grandeur  and  righteous  influence,  con- 
tenting himself  with  fierce  endeavors  to  add 
to  the  material  resources  of  the  Church, 
and  to  enrich  relatives  and  personal  friends. 
The  result  of  his  policy  was  a  dozen  years 
of  contentions,  bickerings  and  warfare,  end- 
ing only  with  his  death,  which  was  hastened 
by  the  failure  of  his  undertakings. 

The  dozen  succeeding  years  under  the  mis- 
named Innocent  VIII.  were,  by  reason  of 
trickery  and  truckling,  years  of  peace  for 
Italy,  but  of  unprofitableness  for  the  Church. 
He  was  succeeded  by  Cardinal  Borgia,  of 
unsavory  fame,  who  became  Pope  with  the 
title  of  Alexander  VI.  He  went  back  to 
Sixtus  for  his  policy,  and  succeeded  in 
reducing  the  papacy  to  the  level  of  the 
other  Italian  principalities,  while  he  demon- 
strated his  willingness  to  barter  the  welfare 
of  the  country  for  his  own  advantage  and 
the  exaltation  of  the  Borgia  family.  The 
new  century,  which  was  to  be  marked  with 
the  most  significant  event  since  the  coming 
of  Christ,  opened  with  this  man  still  on  the 
throne,  disgracing  even  its  bad  record  with 


172   THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

a   personal    character   and   a   sensual    court 
which  were  alike  held  in  general  horror. 

The  incumbents  of  the  papal  chair  for  the 
following  years  showed  no  improvement  on 
the  Borgia  type.  The  attention  of  the 
Pontiff  was  given  to  ceaseless  intrigue, 
diplomacy,  and  warfare,  now  with  this  Power 
and  now  with  that.  Florence,  Venice, 
Milan,  and  Naples  of  the  Italian  states; 
France,  Spain,  England  and  Germany  of 
the  great  powers  were  all  involved  in  turn, 
and  poor  Italy  was  subject  to  the  depreda- 
tions of  one  invader  after  another.  In  1506 
A.  D.,  nearly  at  the  end  of  this  period, 
Julius  II.  laid  the  foundation  of  St.  Peter's 
church  and  summoned  Michael  Angelo  to 
decorate  the  walls  of  the  Sistine  Chapel  with 
frescoes,  and  Raphael  to  immortalize  with 
his  genius  the  walls  of  the  Vatican.  The 
autocratic  Pope  was,  at  least,  a  patron  of 
the  arts;  but  the  cardinals,  wearied  with  his 
warfare  and  worn  out  by  his  belligerent 
temper,  turned  at  his  death  to  the  son  of 
Lorenzo  the  Magnificent,  mild  of  temper 
and  fond  of  music,  art  and  literature.  He 
had  been  made  cardinal  at  the  tender  age 
of  thirteen,  and  now,  at  thirty-seven,  was 
exalted  to  highest  office  as  Leo  X.  He  was 
happily  free  from  the  evil  devices  of   his 


TOWARD   REFORMATION       173 

immediate  predecessors,  but  was  devoted  to 
unreligious  studies,  to  hunting,  and  to  pag- 
eants. Of  him  it  was  wittily  said  that  his 
learning  and  fine  tastes  would  have  made  of 
him  a  perfect  pope, — if  he  had  combined 
with  these  attainments  some  knowledge  of 
religious  matters  and  some  inclination  to 
piety. 

The  period  antecedent  to  the  Reformation 
closes  with  this  Pope  at  Rome;  with  Henry 
VIII.  in  England,  and  Wolsey  just  raised  to 
the  Cardinalate;  with  Francis  I.,  young  and 
ambitious,  upon  the  throne  of  France;  with 
Germany  under  Emperor  Maximilian  vainly 
endeavoring  to  quiet  the  peasants,  whose 
hardships  almost  goaded  them  to  despair, 
and  to  harmonize  the  jealous,  conflicting 
princes;  with  the  Turk  pressing  upon  the 
borders  of  this  central  nation,  and  with  the 
whole  European  world  on  the  verge  of  the 
greatest  outbreak  which  had  ever  threatened 
the  organization  of  the  Church. 

We  have  followed  the  significant  events 
in  the  history  of  the  Church  for  the  two 
centuries  preceding  the  Lutheran  Reforma- 
tion, but  our  understanding  of  the  influences 
which  led  to  that  mighty  movement  will 
not  be  complete  without  emphasizing  two  of 
the  greatest  factors  in  this  mighty  upheaval. 


174   THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

The  first  of  these  is  covered  by  the  historical 
term,  the  "Revival  of  Learning,"  and  the 
second  by  the  names  of  a  half  dozen  great 
leaders  of  thought. 

To  turn  first,  then,  to  the  intellectual  side 
of  this  nascent  period  of  reform,  we  have 
to  note  the  conditions  which  prevailed  in  the 
dark  and  turbulent  ages  from  which  the 
world  was  just  escaping.  It  is  difficult  to 
realize  the  stagnation  of  mind  lasting 
through  centuries,  when  not  only  were 
books  and  current  publications  wanting,  but 
even  the  foundation  of  literature,  language 
itself.  This  was  a  time  when  tlte  speech  of 
Greece  and  Rome  had  passed  out  of  use, 
and  all  the  earlier  literature  had  been  lost  to 
mankind.  The  incoming  Teutonic  tribes 
were  of  speech  rude  and  widely  diverse. 
For  generations  the  new  forms  of  the  Ro- 
mance languages  had  been  in  process  of 
development,  but  were  too  crude  and  too 
changeful  for  high  service.  But  by  the 
beginning  of  the  fourteenth  century  the  new 
national  languages  were  taking  shape,  and 
a  literature  was  coming  into  existence  and 
serving  as  the  vehicle  of  fresh  thinking  in 
civil  and  religious  matters,  and  of  vigorous 
attacks  upon  the  worldliness  and  corruption 
of   the    clergy.     Thus   for   the  first  time  in 


TOWARD   REFORMATION       175 

many  centuries  men  of  like  minds  in  differ- 
ent sections  were  put  into  free  communica- 
tion with  one  another,  and  were  helping  to 
build  a  public  sentiment,  a  free  conscience, 
and  independent  reasoning.  Latent  forces 
were  brought  into  play,  giving  men  quick- 
ened sensibilities,  and  lofty  standards. 
Naturally,  under  such  impulses,  individuals 
of  special  powers  of  mind  were  stimulated 
to  high  thinking  and  literary  production. 
Poets  of  fine  feeling  and  delicate  discrim- 
ination, like  Chaucer  in  England  and  Dante 
and  Petrarch  in  Italy,  caught  the  ear  of  the 
people  with  their  rhymes.  Along  with  wit 
and  fancy  went  also  earnest  exposition  of 
the  inalienable  rights  and  growing  demands 
of  society,  and  scathing  attacks  on  the  vices 
and  petty  tyrannies  of  every  rank  of  the 
clergy.  Under  such  encouragement  and 
enlightenment  the  people  dared  to  think, 
and  as  the  new  movement  broadened  and 
deepened,  the  foundations  of  an  oppressive 
ecclesiasticism  were  slowly  sapped. 

This  period  is  well  described  as  a  revival 
of  learning.  The  interest  in  thought  and 
learning  became  widespread  and  enthusias- 
tic. Men  were  delighted  to  throw  off  the 
ignorance  and  superstition  which  had  hung 
about  them  so  long,  and  to  indulge  in  clearer 


176   THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

ideas  and  freer  sentiments.  They  began  to 
ransack  all  the  monasteries  of  the  West  for 
manuscripts  of  ancient  poets  and  philos- 
ophers. Further,  the  encroachments  of  the 
Turk  in  the  East  drove  many  Greek  scholars 
westward,  and  these  became  teachers  in  the 
schools  of  Italy;  which  schools  in  turn 
came  to  be  a  secondary  source  of  scholars 
and  enthusiastic  missionaries  in  this  new 
movement  of  mental  and  spiritual  awaken- 
ing. The  interest  became  contagious,  men 
everywhere  acquired  a  passion  for  learning, 
while  princes  rivaled  each  other  as  patrons 
of  art  and  founders  of  libraries. 

Just  at  this  critical  point,  to  swell  the  ris- 
ing tide  of  interest  in  philosophy  and  liter- 
ature, came  the  invention  of  printing,  and 
with  its  rapid  development  a  great  multipli- 
cation of  books,  especially  those  that  aided 
in  the  study  of  language.  The  effect  upon 
the  religious  life  was  direct  and  immediate. 
Men  were  at  once  brought  into  contact  with 
the  Scriptures  and  with  the  writers  of  the 
early  Church.  Comparison  was  inevitable 
between  the  simplicity  and  purity  of  the 
apostolic  teachings  and  the  manners  and 
morals  of  the  clergy  of  the  day.  Multitudes 
in  every  land  of  Europe  were  thus  prepared 
by  enlarged  information,   clearer  processes 


TOWARD   REFORMATION       177 

of  reasoning,  and  quickened  consciences  for 
a  revolt  from  the  grossness  and  the  tyranny 
of  the  Roman  Church. 

We  turn  now,  in  a  brief  study  of  a  few 
great  and  independent  thinkers,  to  the  sec- 
ond set  of  influences  making  for  reform. 

The  very  earliest  of  these  pioneers  of  re- 
form is  William  of  Occam.  He  was  born 
at  Surrey,  England,  in  1270,  and  lived  an 
active  intellectual  life  for  more  than  three 
score  years  and  ten.  He  is  to  be  ranked 
with  the  schoolmen  by  his  methods  of  phi- 
losophy, and  by  his  share  in  their  faults  of 
triviality,  prolixity  and  formalism;  yet  his 
influence  was  felt  by  Wyclif,  and  his  mem- 
ory was  gratefully  cherished  by  Martin 
Luther.  As  lecturer  in  the  University  of 
Paris,  he  was  known  as  the  "Invincible  Doc- 
tor"; and  there  he  became  the  animating 
spirit  of  a  group  of  able  men.  He  was  the 
earnest  advocate  of  poverty  and  simplicity 
of  life  as  against  the  luxury  of  the  papal 
court,  and  upheld  the  independence  of  the 
state  against  the  Church,  and  of  its  claims 
to  papal  infallibility. 

Of  an  entirely  different  type  of  thought 
and  labor,  but  next  in  the  order  of  time,  was 
Tauler  the  Mystic.  He  is  the  representa- 
tive of  a  class  of  men  who,  however  extrav- 


178   THE   CHRISTIAN    CENTURIES 

agant  on  one  side  and  limited  on  another, 
have  stood  for  the  unseen  workings  of  the 
Spirit  and  the  truth  in  the  hearts  and  minds 
of  men.  To  the  credit  of  the  mystics  it 
must  be  said  that  they  resisted  the  bondage 
and  formalism  of  the  ecclesiastical  system 
which  held  all  Europe  in  its  power,  while 
they  had  no  contention  against  the  formal 
doctrines  of  the  Church.  They  went  to  an 
extreme  in  neglecting  the  body  for  the 
spirit  and  refusing  to  exercise  common 
sense  in  important  affairs,  but  they  made  a 
noble  and  valuable  protest  against  outward 
exercises  which  had  been  over-magnified,, 
and  demonstrated  the  essential  worth  of 
spiritual  things. 

It  was  the  grey  dawn  of  the  Reformation, 
but  not  only  was  the  tint  of  day  on  the  east- 
ern sky,  the  mystics,  in  their  own  fashion, 
and  despite  some  blunderings,  were  hasten- 
ing its  coming. 

Tauler  was  born  in  1290  A.  D.,  of  wealthy 
parents.  At  eighteen  he  gave  himself  to  a 
religious  life,  which  at  that  time  always 
meant  leaving  the  pursuits  and  enjoyments 
of  life  and  joining  some  order  of  monks. 
Not  long  after  this  he  sought  Paris,  which 
was  then  the  center  of  learning,  especially 
of  the  scholastic  type.     Here  he  was  taught 


TOWARD   REFORMATION       179 

the  objectivity  of  Christianity,  a  thing  to  be 
studied  in  its  observable  phases  entirely 
outside  of  one's  own  experiences.  Human 
sympathies  were  not  much  stirred  by 
thoughts  of  God  and  the  Christ.  The  divine 
nature  was  looked  at  very  much  as  now  we 
gaze  at  the  sun,  and  observe  the  changes  of 
the  moon. 

Although  this  was  the  prevailing  method 
of  consideration  applied  to  religious  mat- 
ters, it  failed  to  satisfy  the  deeper  cravings 
of  Tauler's  heart.  His  longing  was  for  life, 
not  logic,  and  he  hungered  for  spiritual 
realities.  At  last  he  came  back  to  Strass- 
burg  to  take  up  work  as  a  preaching  friar, 
and  happening  to  fall  in  with  one  who  was 
opening  the  Scriptures  in  their  simplicity  to 
the  people,  he  was  greatly  influenced,  and 
was  drawn  away  from  the  subtleties  of  the 
schools  and  toward  a  genuine  piety.  Under 
this  experience  the  conviction  grew  upon 
him  that  rites,  observances  and  speculations 
do  not  constitute  the  true  life  of  man;  which 
is  found  alone  in  the  affections  of  the  heart 
and  in  the  sanctified  will.  New  thoughts 
came  to  him  of  the  reality  and  nearness  of 
God,  and  a  new  development  of  personal 
character  was  the  result.  It  is  not  necessary 
to   follow  even  the  few  details  of  Tauler's 


i8o  THE   CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

life  which  have  been  rescued  from  oblivion. 
It  is  enough  to  mark  the  spirit  of  genuine 
religion  and  of  free  action  which  manifested 
itself  in  him.  That  he  should  brave  the  ban 
of  the  Pope  and  that  he  should  work  with- 
out fear  or  reserve  through  the  horrors  of  the 
Black  Plague  which  took  twenty-five  mil- 
lions out  of  Europe,  demonstrated  that  the 
greatest  thing  in  religion  is  to  find  the  living 
God,  and  the  greatest  thing  in  life  is  to  love 
one's  neighbors  as  one's  self.  One  enriched 
by  this  experience  could  not  be  subservient 
to  the  Roman  hierarchy. 

Next  in  order  of  time  and  far  in  advance 
of  his  age  was  John  Wyclif,  whose  life 
covered  the  sixty  years  between  1324  A.  D. 
and  1384  A.  D.  He  was  the  most  remarka- 
ble and  influential  of  all  the  pre-Reforma- 
tion  leaders.  Educated  at  Oxford,  he  be- 
came a  part  of  the  teaching  force  there,  and 
rose  through  successive  positions  to  be  doc- 
tor of  theology.  As  a  thinker  he  was  both 
clear  and  bold;  discerning  errors  which  had 
developed  on  every  side  and  ruthlessly  ex- 
posing them.  On  the  one  hand  he  attacked 
the  fatally  wrong  doctrine  of  the  excellence 
of  poverty  for  its  own  sake,  a  doctrine  which 
was  the  foundation  stone  of  all  the  monkish 
orders.     On  the  other  hand,  as  against  the 


TOWARD   REFORMATION       i8i 

encroachments  of  the  papacy,  he  cham- 
pioned the  civil  and  political  rights  of  the 
King  and  parliament.  He  was  protected  by 
great  nobles,  with  John  of  Gaunt  at  their 
head,  while  going  on  to  teach  that  papal 
decrees  were  without  authority  save  from 
agreement  with  the  teachings  of  Scripture. 
He  even  struck  at  all  the  "multiplied  ranks 
of  the  priesthood,"  popes,  cardinals,  patri- 
archs, holding  to  the  simplicity  of  organiza- 
tion in  the  early  Church.  He  reasoned 
against  such  abuses  as  were  connected  with 
auricular  confession,  extreme  unction,  and 
over-elaboration  of  church  worship,  crown- 
ing the  work  of  his  fruitful  life  by  giving  to 
the  people  the  Bible  in  their  own  vernac- 
ular, and  insisting  on  their  right  to  read  it 
for  themselves. 

Wyclif  was  a  hundred  years  too  early  to 
inaugurate  a  national  movement  for  imme- 
diate reform,  although  there  were  lacking  in 
him  no  elements  of  greatness  or  heroism. 
But  he  did  needful  service  as  a  forerunner 
of  reformers  who  were  to  come  in  the  full- 
ness of  time.  He  laid  the  foundation  for 
the  great  movement  of  the  following  cen- 
tury. He  planted  in  English  minds,  and 
indeed  scattered  broadcast  all  over  Europe, 
seed  thoughts  and  germinant  principles  cal- 


i82   THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

culated  to  enkindle  the  minds  of  men  and  to 
quicken  them  to  zeal  for  purity  and  freedom. 
The  lineal  descendant  of  Wyclif  in  reli- 
gious thought  and  life  was  John  Hus  of  Bo- 
hemia, whose  martyrdom  occurred  in 
connection  with  the  General  Council  at 
Constance,  a  hundred  years  before  the  con- 
version of  Martin  Luther.  The  noble  Em- 
peror, Charles  IV.,  had  given  protection  to 
a  number  of  men  who  had  made  bold  attack 
upon  the  vices  of  the  clergy  and  the  people, 
and  had  maintained  the  supremacy  of  the 
Bible  and  the  Holy  Spirit  in  religious  mat- 
ter. As  this  new  party  rose  to  power,  John 
Hus  appeared  at  its  head.  At  thirty-three 
he  was  appointed  Chapel  Preacher,  and  a 
little  later  was  made  rector  of  the  University 
at  Prague,  and  there  in  self-defence  "made 
appeal  from  the  Pope  poorly  informed  to  the 
Pope  better  informed."  But  when  he  went 
on  to  attack  the  unscriptural  practices  of  the 
Church  and  to  repeat  the  teachings  of 
Wyclif,  there  was  hurled  at  him  not  merely 
an  interdict  but  the  papal  ban  of  excom- 
munication. He  was  persuaded  by  the  Em- 
peror to  go  into  exile  for  the  sake  of  peace; 
but  from  his  retirement  he  sent  letters  to 
his  people;  displaying  less  acuteness  than 
Wyclif,  but  not  less  zeal  for  practical  right- 


TOWARD    REFORMATION       183 

eousness.  It  was  after  two  years  of  exile 
that  he  went  under  the  safe  conduct  of  Sigis- 
mund  to  Constance,  and,  as  it  proved,  to  a 
noble  martyrdom.  Cruel  and  untimely  as 
his  death  was,  in  the  judgment  of  history, 
yet  it  led  to  the  enshrining  of  his  personal 
character  in  the  world's  esteem,  and  to  the 
intensifying  of  his  appeals  for  the  true  prin- 
ciples of  a  free  religious  life. 

In  another  land  was  born,  not  long  after 
the  death  of  Hus  (viz.,  in  1452  A.  D.),. 
another  forerunner  of  the  Reformation, 
whose  devoted  work  and  heroic  death 
opened  the  way  for  better  things  in  both 
national  and  Church  life.  Savonarola,  the 
Florentine  reformer,  was  less  devoted  to  the 
modification  of  doctrine  than  to  the  purifi- 
cation of  civic,  ecclesiastical,  and  personal 
morals.  His  start  in  life  had  fortunately 
not  been  in  the  way  of  training  for  orders. 
It  was  while  pursuing  the  study  of  medicine 
that  he  had  become  alarmed  and  disgusted  at 
the  prevailing  wickedness,  and  had  entered 
the  ranks  of  Dominican  monks.  His  first 
attempts  at  preaching  in  Florence  at  the  age 
of  thirty  had  small  influence  on  the  tide  of 
luxury  in  the  gay  city.  But  as  he  grew  in 
earnestness  of  conviction  and  in  power  of 
appeal   he   discarded   the    methods   of   the 


i84  THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

school  and  thundered  in  the  mighty  tones 
of  a  prophet.  At  last  the  city  was  moved, 
and  the  Cathedral  was  often  crowded  with 
intent  listeners.  In  the  year  of  his  martyr- 
dom he  was  made  head  of  St.  Mark's  Con- 
vent, and  his  influence  was  so  increased  as 
to  alarm  the  Medici  against  whose  protec- 
tion of  immoralities  he  hurled  his  invec- 
tives. His  administration  of  the  convent 
and  his  counsels  and  prayers  at  the  bedside 
of  the  dying  Lorenzo  are  dramatically  set 
forth  by  George  Eliot  in  her  matchless 
Romola.  Savonarola  interested  himself  in 
the  minutest  affairs  of  the  state,  and  after 
the  overthrow  of  the  power  of  the  Medici 
urged  the  adoption  of  a  democratic  consti- 
tution; and  really  brought  about  a  new  order 
of  civic  and  social  life. 

But  the  infamous  Corsair  Pope  was  natu- 
rally out  of  sympathy  with  such  a  reformer; 
and  when  he  found  it  impossible  to  pur- 
chase his  silence  by  the  bribe  of  a  cardinal's 
hat  or  to  quiet  him  by  threats,  he  resorted 
to  excommunication;  which,  indeed,  Savona- 
rola boldly  repudiated.  There  was  but  one 
thing  left  for  a  tyrannical  pontiff  to  do,  and 
that  the  usual  one  of  securing  the  speedy 
death  of  his  opposer.  He  first  brought 
about   the   discredit    of     the   preacher   and 


TOWARD   REFORMATION       185 

secured  his  imprisonment.  A  little  later 
followed  the  farce  of  a  trial,  unjust  condem- 
nation, the  gibbet  and  the  flames,  with  the 
scattering  of  his  ashes  upon  the  waters  of 
the  Arno.  As  so  often  happens,  from  such 
deeds  of  unholy  violence,  there  was  a  return 
after  many  days,  and  a  harvest  was  gathered 
in  which  wickedness  could  find  no  delight. 

These  five  glorious  reformers  all  died  in 
faith,  not  having  received  the  expected  re- 
forms, but  having  greeted  them  from  afar, 
with  the  cherished  assurance  that  what  was 
denied  to  their  sight  would  become  reality 
to  other  eyes. 

The  sixth  upon  the  list  of  great  workers  in 
this  period  lived  to  see  the  outbreak  of  the 
great  revolution  of  religious  life  in  the 
Church.  Erasmus  was  born  at  Rotterdam 
in  1455  A.  D.,  but  began  his  active  work  on 
the  other  side  of  the  Channel.  When  John 
Colet,  son  of  the  Lord  Mayor  of  London, 
came  back  from  Italy,  where  the  revival  of 
learning  bore  its  earliest  fruits,  he  gave  in 
the  English  metropolis  a  series  of  lectures 
on  the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  in  which  he  dis- 
carded the  artificial  methods  in  vogue  and 
set  forth  the  simple  teachings  of  the  great 
apostle  in  clear  and  forceful  language. 
Among  his  hearers,  sitting  beside  Thomas 


i86  THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

More,  was  a  young  stranger  from  Holland. 
It  marks  one  of  the  leadings  of  Providence 
that  this  fine  Dutch  scholar  should  have  been 
driven  from  his  native  land  for  such  instruc- 
tion and  such  personal  fellowship.  It  was 
thus  in  England  that  Erasmus  found  his 
awakening,  and  before  he  left  her  shores  he 
sent  forth  his  "Praise  of  Folly,"  to  be  read 
by  thousands  who  sympathized  with  his  keen 
ridicule  of  the  evils  so  rife  in  society  and 
the  Church.  From  London  he  went  to 
Basel;  where,  under  civil  protection  he 
worked  at  an  edition  of  the  Greek  Testa- 
ment, and  at  a  translation  of  it  into  Latin. 
He  also  prepared  editions  of  the  great 
fathers  of  the  Church,  thus  opening  to  the 
men  of  that  generation  the  fundamental 
truths  of  Christianity  and  the  history  of  its 
development. 

His  splendid  scholarship  was  devoted  to 
the  enlightenment  of  the  world,  and  espe- 
cially to  the  presentation  of  the  Scriptures  to 
the  people  in  their  own  tongue.  At  the 
same  time,  in  lighter  vein,  but  with  great 
effectiveness,  he  held  up  to  ridicule  idleness, 
illiteracy,  self-indulgence,  useless  austeri- 
ties, and  other  abuses  of  the  age.  He  was 
sincerely  devoted  to  his  mission,  which 
was  to  replace  superstition,  dogmatism  and 


TOWARD   REFORMATION       187 

bigotry  with  culture  and  liberality  of  spirit, 
and  thereby  to  establish  a  type  of  Chris- 
tianity simpler  and  purer  than  he  had  found 
in  the  world. 

Long  before  his  life  work  was  finished  he 
witnessed  the  outbreak  of  a  great  revolution, 
many  features  of  which  were  abhorrent  to 
his  taste.  His  quiet  scholarly  habits  had 
unfitted  him  for  participation  in  a  stormy 
contest  for  liberty  of  thought  and  life,  or 
even  for  personal  sympathy  with  men  who 
were  giving  themselves  in  heroic  devotion 
to  the  great  conflict.  He  desired  reforma- 
tion without  disruption,  and  hoped  to  bring 
about  radical  improvements  without  dis- 
membering the  historical  Church.  But  he 
builded  far  better  than  he  knew,  and  helped 
on  the  movement  which  he  deplored,  but 
which  was  unquestionably  the  method  nec- 
essary for  the  achievement  of  liberty  from 
the  thraldom  of  a  corrupt  hierarchy. 


CHAPTER   VI 

THE  LUTHERAN  REFORMATION 

We  are  now  stepping  over  the  threshold 
of  the  modern  era.  As  the  life  work  of 
Christ  gives  an  unmistakable  line  of  division 
between  the  old  and  the  new,  so  does  the 
great  transforming  movement  of  the  six- 
teenth century.  Tracing  the  story  from  the 
earlier  ages,  coming  up  to  the  Reformation 
from  the  further  side,  we  find  the  religious 
awakening  at  once  astounding  and  natural. 
One  is  shocked  by  the  overthrow  of  a  power 
which  had  continued  for  more  than  a  thou- 
sand years.  At  the  same  time,  that  men 
should  finally  open  their  eyes  to  vast  evils 
and  arouse  themselves  for  their  suppression 
seems  quite  inevitable.  When  the  darkness, 
confusion  and  stagnation  of  the  Middle 
Ages  gave  way  before  the  Revival  of  Learn- 
ing, which  brought  with  it  mental  quicken- 
ing and  a  great  enkindling  of  human  energies, 
the  cruel  restrictions  which  had  so  long 
checked  the  development  of  a  pure  religious 
life  among  the  people  of  all  papal  lands 
were  necessarily  broken  through,  and  great 
i88 


LUTHERAN  REFORMATION    189 

changes  rapidly  took  place  which  for  the 
first  time  made  a  fundamental  and  wide- 
spread renovation  a  possibility. 

Great  states  were  growing  into  conscious- 
ness of  strength  and  of  personal  rights. 
Monarchs  were  raising  peasant  armies  to 
destroy  the  remaining  power  of  the  feudal 
nobility;  and  at  the  same  time  the  peasants 
themselves  with  new  weapons  of  warfare  in 
their  hands  were  recognizing  their  own 
manhood  as  potent  against  both  lords  and 
kings.  The  ancient  philosophies  were  being 
widely  studied  in  the  rapidly  multiplying 
books  of  the  new  age;  the  bold  declarations 
and  lofty  standards  of  great  masters  of  both 
political  and  religious  science  were  becom- 
ing public  property;  the  brilliant  discoveries 
of  a  new  world  across  the  seas  were  elec- 
trifying the  older  nations  and  thrilling  them 
with  larger  conceptions  of  life. 

The  conditions  were  in  a  general  way 
highly  favorable  for  the  action  of  specific 
influences,  and  for  successful  leadership  on 
the  part  of  great  men. 

The  causes  of  the  revolution  are  not 
always  traceable,  for  there  are  deep  under- 
currents of  thought  and  feeling  which  no  eye 
can  follow;  but  the  sources  of  many  potent 
influences  are  beyond  question.     The   Ref- 


ipoTHE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

ormation  was  not,  as  some  astrologers  of 
the  day  declared,  due  "to  a  certain  uncom- 
mon and  malignant  position  of  the  stars 
which  scattered  the  spirit  of  giddiness  and 
innovation  over  the  world."  It  was  not 
characterized  by  "giddiness,"  but  by  clear- 
ness and  profundity  of  thinking.  For  the 
first  time  in  centuries  men  were  aroused  in 
feeling  and  untrammeled  in  reasoning.  The 
causes  which  the  student  of  history  has  to 
seek  are  those  which  brought  about  this 
novel  condition  in  the  world's  life.  The 
people  had  been  supine  under  priestly  domi- 
nation; they  were  so  no  longer.  They  had 
tolerated  gravest  wrongs  against  the  name 
of  Christ  and  against  their  own  interests, 
but  now  they  were  becoming  intolerant  of 
injustice  and  oppression. 

The  leaders  of  the  movement  went  for- 
ward only  one  step  at  a  time.  It  would 
have  appalled  them,  possibly  have  daunted 
them,  if  at  the  very  outset  they  could  have 
looked  down  the  vista  of  centuries  and  have 
marked  the  full  effect  of  their  words  and 
deeds.  It  was  enough  for  them  to  act  at 
each  critical  moment  according  to  the  high 
behest  of  reason  and  conscience.  They 
were  moved  by  manful  and  religious  con- 
victions, and  therefore  played  the  hero  at 


LUTHERAN  REFORMATION    191 

every  crisis.  It  was  neither  to  their  credit 
nor  discredit  that  the  times  were  ripe  for 
revolution.  The  mighty  fabric  of  the  hier- 
archy of  Rome  was  tottering  to  its  fall. 
The  slightest  push  sufficed  to  send  it  over. 
Material  had  been  collecting  which  was  like 
tinder  waiting  for  the  spark;  the  spark  fell 
and  the  flames  broke  forth  in  a  widespread 
conflagration. 

The  Reformation  was  not,  as  Roman 
Catholic  writers  would  fain  have  us  believe, 
the  work  of  infidels  or  fanatics.  The  initial 
impulse  which  determined  the  direction  of 
affairs  came  from  men  of  profoundest  reli- 
gious faith,  and  the  movement  itself  was 
the  united  effort  of  thousands  of  men  and 
women  who  longed  for  pure  and  noble  liv- 
ing. The  controlling  motives  sprang  from 
religious  feeling.  There  were  doubtless 
instances  of  proclaimed  scepticism,  there 
were  others  where  liberty  ran  into  license; 
but  these  phases  were  subordinate  and  not 
characteristic.  Men  had  been  unconsciously 
repelled  from  the  standards  of  moral  and 
religious  life  set  by  popes  and  priests,  and 
were  waiting  with  an  unrecognized  yearning 
for  faith  and  spirituality.  When  there  came 
an  appeal  to  break  away  from  the  thraldom 
of  a  false  rulership  and  take  to  themselves 


192  THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

high  prerogatives  as  the  children  of  God 
they  answered  it  and  grew  into  stalwart 
Christian  faith  and  heroism. 

There  had  been  as  good  reason  for  such  a 
movement  five  centuries  before,  but  then 
the  land  slept  in  darkness,  whereas  now  there 
was  a  flood  of  light  breaking  in.  In  Wyclif, 
Hus  and  Savonarola  there  was  clear  vision 
and  daring  leadership  but  the  people  were 
not  prepared  to  follow.  Now,  for  the  first 
time,  all  conditions  were  favorable  for  a 
great  awakening,  and  for  a  widespread  and 
unfaltering  struggle  for  religious  freedom 
and  purity.  The  real  Gospel  had  become 
infused  into  the  minds  of  the  people,  and 
mighty  as  was  the  institution  which  held 
the  right  of  entrance  into  the  path  toward 
the  living  and  loving  God,  they  would  no 
longer  be  kept  in  check.  They  had  at  first 
no  notion  of  overturning  this  institution. 
Their  eyes  were  not  even  fixed  upon  it. 
They  simply  saw  the  goal  of  religious  life 
and  liberty,  and  pressed  steadily  toward  it 
without  measuring  the  sacrifice  and  peril 
demanded  for  the  successful  prosecution  of 
their  holy  purpose. 

It  was  a  movement  among  the  masses 
first,  and  peculiarly  among  the  common  peo- 
ple of  Germany;  but  both  its  origin  and  its 


LUTHERAN  REFORMATION    193 

course  must  be  traced  to  the  leaders  of  the 
day.  The  leaders  were  leagues  in  advance 
of  the  people.  They  were  better  informed, 
bolder  and  clearer  in  their  thinking;  they 
saw  the  significance  and  magnitude  of  the 
issue,  and  so  became  to  their  fellow  men 
interpreters  of  the  truth  and  inspirers  to 
heroic  action. 

The  reformation  had  different  phases.  It 
was  a  movement  affecting  beliefs,  rites,  the 
ecclesiastical  organizations  of  the  Church, 
and  indeed  the  whole  mode  of  Christian  liv- 
ing. It  marked  also  the  beginning  of  a  new 
era  in  culture  and  civilization.  At  the 
same  time  it  was  political,  affecting  the 
motives  of  sovereigns  and  the  fortune  of  na- 
tions. 

In  studying  this  movement  we  naturally 
turn,  first  of  all,  to  Germany,  where  the 
conditions  were  all  favorable.  That  it 
should  have  affected  Germany  more  deeply 
than  the  other  nations  of  Europe  is  easily 
explained.  On  the  one  hand,  as  Hegel  has 
set  forth,  while  other  maritime  nations  were 
going  out  to  America  and  the  Indies  in  wild 
quest  of  riches  and  the  dominion  of  lands, 
Luther  was  opening  up  new  realms  of 
thought  to  a  seriously  minded  people.  On 
the  other  hand,  Leo  X.,  son  of  Lorenzo  the 


194  THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

Magnificent,  occupied  with  his  hunting  and 
pageants,  and  with  his  pursuit  of  culture 
and  art,  was  not  greatly  disturbed  at  reports 
from  Saxony.  "It  is  only  a  squabble  of 
monks,"  he  said,  and  he  was  content  with 
an  attempt  through  Cardinal  Cajetan,  his 
legate,  to  reduce  the  most  refractory  monk 
among  them  to  terms.  But  the  emissary  of 
the  Pope  met  at  Augsburg  a  very  different 
man  from  the  picture  in  the  mind  of  Leo 
With  him  he  had  no  success. 

To  sum  up  the  favorable  points  in  the 
situation,  there  was  provision  for  the  move- 
ment in  the  thoughtfulness  and  earnestness 
of  the  people,  in  the  temporary  preoccupa- 
tion of  the  Pope,  in  the  diversion  of  the 
emperor's  attention,  in  the  favor  of  a  great 
prince,  and  in  the  work  of  Martin  Luther. 
The  element  furnished  by  the  great  leader 
is  so  important  that  it  will  be  well  to  recall 
the  story  of  his  life  and  work.  Luther  be- 
longs to  the  limited  number  of  truly  great 
men.  As  Bayard  Taylor  has  expressed  it, 
he  was  "One  of  the  creative  spirits  of  the 
race,"  "a  man  of  great  intuition,"  "the 
only  protestant  leader  whose  heart  was  as 
large  as  his  brain."  Professor  Fisher  says 
that  "Martin  Luther  was  the  unquestiona- 
ble hero  of  the  Reformation,"  and  "that  his 


LUTHERAN  REFORMATION    195 

dauntless  determination  was  the  rallying 
point  for  multitudes." 

Martin  Luther  was  born  at  Eisleben,  in 
November,  1483  A.  D.  His  father  was  a 
miner  of  the  higher  type.  He  was  strictly 
trained  in  moral  and  religious  matters,  and 
in  due  time  became  a  monk.  It  was  the 
sale  of  indulgences  by  Tetzel,  near  Witten- 
berg, in  15 17  A.  D.,  that  stirred  Luther  first 
to  preach  against  a  custom  so  infamous  and 
then  to  write  his  celebrated  theses  in  defense 
of  his  position.  These  "indulgences"  were 
commutations  of  penance  which  were  given 
upon  payment  of  money.  The  right  to  issue 
them  was  the  exclusive  prerogative  of  the 
Pope.  At  first  they  covered  the  remission 
of  the  punishment  of  souls  in  purgatory, 
but  afterward,  according  to  Martin  Luther, 
they  secured  the  remission  of  present  pen- 
alties. Theoretically,  contrition  was  re- 
quired of  the  recipient  of  an  indulgence,  yet 
it  generally  appeared  to  the  people  a  straight 
out  bargain  with  the  Pope  as  absolver. 

The  famous  theses  of  Luther  denied  the 
right  or  power  of  the  Pope  to  remove  other 
penalties  than  those  imposed  by  himself, 
and  declared  that  his  power  never  reached 
beyond  death.  The  theses  were,  according 
to  the  custom  of  medieval  universities,  only 


196   THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

propositions  propounded  for  academic  de- 
bate. They  stirred  up  a  commotion,  far 
beyond  their  author's  calculation.  Through- 
out all  Germany,  the  hawkers  of  indulgences 
were  driven  to  defense  and  discussion. 
Froude  declares  the  date  of  the  posting  of 
the  theses,  October  31st,  1517,  "the  most 
memorable  day  in  modern  European  his- 
tory." Was  it  an  easy  thing  to  put  them 
upon  the  door  of  the  Castle  Church  of 
Wittenberg?  We  listen  to  Luther's  own 
words.  "In  what  straits  my  soul  was  con- 
fined during  the  first  of  the  following  year; 
to  what  submissions  I  descended;  nay,  in 
what  despair  I  was  all  but  involved  can  be 
little  conceived.  .  .  .  Indeed,  at  that  time 
I  had  a  much  stronger  reverence  for  the 
Pontifical  Church  and  a  much  deeper  convic- 
tion that  it  was  the  true  church  than  had  my 
opponents  who  were  loudly  extolling  it." 

Meanwhile  Luther  was  forced  into  public 
debate  with  Doctor  John  Eck,  a  theological 
opponent.  He  had  been  summoned  to 
Augsburg  to  meet  Cardinal  Cajetan.  He 
went  under  safe-conduct  of  Emperor  Maxi- 
milian, but  in  expectation  of  death.  How 
much  hung  in  the  balance!  Being  young, 
diffident  and  modest,  Luther  was  prepared 
to  yield  much  if  only  the  Cardinal  would  be 


LUTHERAN  REFORMATION    197 

moderate  in  his  exactions  and  generous  in 
his  concessions.  But  wickedness  overdid 
itself.  Cajetan  was  scornful.  And  why 
not  to  a  poor  monk!  Goaded  in  this  way, 
Luther  would  not  retract  unless  he  were  sat- 
isfactorily answered  from  Scripture.  No 
agreement  was  reached,  and  the  return  to 
Wittenberg  was  accomplished  in  safety.     In 

1519  A.  D.  came  the  Leipzig  disputation 
before  Duke  George.  Luther  again  faced 
his  old  opponent,  Doctor  John  Eck.  Luther 
had  much  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures,  of 
the  Fathers  of  the  Church,  and  of  Church 
history,  upon  which  to  draw.  He  now  saw 
whither  his  contention  was  leading,  and  for 
this  reason  the  event  was  of  the  utmost  sig- 
nificance to  the  reformer.  He  found  the 
doctrine  of  sovereign  grace,  to  which  he  had 
anchored,  incompatible  with  the  whole  round 
of  medieval  ceremonial  life.  He  saw  now 
that  he  was  breaking  with  Rome.  And  all 
Germany  saw  it,  too. 

His  opponents,  alive  to  the  significant 
situation,  pressed  for  a  papal  bull.  Eck 
came  with  it,  condemning  forty-one  of 
Luther's  theses.     On  the  loth  of  December, 

1520  A.  D.,  Luther  solemnly  burned  a  copy 
of  it.  It  was  deliberately  done.  Marching' 
at  the  head  of  a  procession  of  professors  and 


198  THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

students  to  the  market  place,  where  a  bon- 
fire had  been  made,  to  which  one  of  the  pro- 
fessors 'applied  a  light,  Luther  threw  the 
papal  bull  upon  the  flames.  It  is  said  that 
he  afterward  confessed  to  have  trembled 
before  the  deed,  but  declared  that  when  it 
was  done  he  was  better  pleased  with  it  than 
with  any  act  of  his  life.  Unbounded  proof 
he  gave  of  his  cool  and  determined  bravery. 
Knowing  the  danger,  he  did  not  flinch. 

We  come  next  to  the  famous  Diet  of 
Worms,  called  in  April,  1521  A.  D.,  by 
Emperor  Charles,  upon  appeal  from  Pope 
Leo,  in  order  that  Luther  might  be  put 
under  the  ban  of  the  Empire,  as  he  already 
was  under  that  of  the  Pope.  The  German 
Princes,  partly  from  a  love  of  fair  play,  and 
partly  to  emphasize  their  political  independ- 
ence of  the  Pope,  urged  the  Emperor  not 
to  condemn  Luther  unheard;  and  thus  came 
about  his  summons  to  the  Diet  to  answer 
for  himself.  On  the  way  to  the  Diet  Luther 
was  greeted  by  enthusiastic  supporters,  the 
University  of  Erfurt  going  out  in  a  body  to 
salute  him.  But  occasional  voices  warned 
him  of  the  insecurity  of  the  Emperor's  safe- 
conduct.  It  was  in  reply  to  these  words  of 
warning  that  he  made  the  famous  utterance: 
"Yes,   they  burned   Hus,  but  not  the  truth 


LUTHERAN  REFORMATION    199 

with  him.  I  will  go  on  though  as  many 
devils  were  aiming  at  me  as  there  are  tiles 
on  the  roofs." 

To  Luther  the  Diet  was  an  imposing  spec- 
tacle. It  included  the  highest  temporal, 
social  and  spiritual  powers  of  the  nation. 
When,  therefore,  it  was  demanded  of  him: 
"Do  you  retract?"  the  peasant's  son  was  for 
the  moment  overawed  and  asked  for  time. 
After  a  night  of  prayer  and  of  quiet  thought 
he  recovered  himself.  Daylight  found  him 
fresh,  courageous,  collected,  his  own  splen- 
did master  and  theirs. 

He  divided  his  address  into  three  parts. 
First,  there  were  simple  gospel  truths  ac- 
cepted by  all.  Secondly,  there  were  violent 
words  against  particular  persons,  which 
were  faulty,  and  required  modification. 
Thirdly,  there  were  declarations  against 
papal  laws  and  customs  which  had  tried  all 
Christendom.  These  he  would  not  retract. 
In  a  clear,  strong  voice  he  gave  them  utter- 
ance, first  in  Latin,  and  then  in  German. 
Upon  further  and  brutal  challenge  by  Doctor 
Eck  he  spoke  the  immortal  words:  "Here 
stand  I,  I  cannot  do  otherwise.  God  help 
me."  It  was  as  Froude  declared:  "One  of 
the  finest  scenes  in  history."  It  is  perpetu- 
ated by  the  impressive  group  of  bronze  fig- 


200    THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

ures  surrounding  the  sturdy  form  of  Luther 
in  the  City  of  Worms. 

The  battle  raged  all  day,  and  by  torch- 
light in  the  evening,  but  the  hearts  of  the 
laymen  were  touched  by  the  courage  of  the 
man  on  trial,  and  would  permit  no  violence. 
Luther  was  ordered  home  by  the  Elector 
until  the  Diet  should  decide  upon  the  case. 
It  became  evident  that  the  majority  would 
pronounce  for  his  death,  and  Luther  was 
saved  only  by  a  ruse  on  the  part  of  the  Elec- 
tor. He  was  set  upon  while  passing  through 
the  Thuringian  forest  by  an  armed  party  and 
carried  off  to  Wartburg  Castle.  The  secret 
was  well  kept.  Luther  had  disappeared  and 
was  in  exile  ten  months.  At  the  castle  he 
passed  as  Ritter  George,  a  captive  knight. 
This  was  the  most  picturesque  incident  of 
his  life.  While  in  this  retreat  he  dropped 
the  monk's  gown,  donned  the  dress  of  a 
gentleman,  suffered  his  beard  to  grow,  wore 
a  sword,  and  was  treated  as  a  distinguished 
guest.  He  rode  and  hunted  as  he  liked,  but 
worked  with  energy  on  a  translation  of  the 
Bible  into  the  German  vernacular. 

Luther  had  both  wisdom  and  steadiness. 
While  in  retirement  at  Wartburg,  his  col- 
league, Carldstadt,  who  had  opened  the  de- 
bate at   Leipzig,    was   the   cause   of    grave 


LUTHERAN  REFORMATION    201 

disturbances  at  Wittenberg  by  his  assaults 
on  the  rites  and  ordinances  of  the  church. 
The  trouble  was  increased  by  certain  en- 
thusiasts who  claimed  inspiration,  and 
prophesied  a  great  social  convulsion. 
Luther,  with  his  good  sense,  saw  at  once 
the  danger  of  an  outburst  of  fanaticism, 
which  would  destroy  all  that  had  been 
gained.  Unmindful  of  his  personal  peril, 
and  of  the  urgent  warnings  of  his  protector, 
he  returned  at  once  to  Wittenberg.  In  a 
few  powerful  sermons  he  pled  for  Christian 
moderation  and  had  the  satisfaction  of  see- 
ing the  commotion  subside.  He  did  not, 
however,  go  back  to  his  asylum,  but  con- 
tinued at  Wittenberg,  working  without  ces- 
sation as  preacher  and  teacher.  Twenty 
years  more  of  life  remained  to  him  but  vic- 
tory had  already  been  won.  He  continued 
as  director  of  the  great  movement  now  under 
full  head,  counseling  peace  as  against  the 
Peasants'  War,  showing  confidence  in  the 
truth  and  occupying  himself  with  preaching 
and  conferences  to  the  end  of  life. 

Luther  took  a  bold  stand  for  home-life. 
It  was  "as  brave  a  step  to  marry  a  runaway 
nun  as  to  burn  the  papal  bull."  He  had 
counseled  the  clergy  to  marry,  and  was 
naturally  commended  to  set  the  example  to 


202  THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

others  who  were  hesitating.  As  a  monk,  he 
had  been  under  vows  of  celibacy,  but  he  had 
ceased  to  believe  in  monasticism,  and  had 
repudiated  the  vows  of  the  order.  When, 
therefore,  he  was  settled  as  Professor  at  the 
University  of  Wittenberg,  he  was  ready  for 
a  home  of  his  own.  Catharine  Von  Bora, 
sixteen  years  younger  than  himself,  had 
been  a  nun  in  a  distant  convent.  Detesting 
the  life,  she,  with  a  half  dozen  others,  had 
gladly  welcomed  the  release  which  Luther 
secured  for  them.  She  was  a  simple,  active, 
sensible  woman,  and  thoroughly  conse- 
crated. With  her  Luther  settled  down  to  a 
busy,  useful  life,  and  was  quietly  happy  in 
his  home,  a  pleasant,  roomy  building  on  the 
banks  of  the  Elbe. 

But  in  spite  of  domestic  happiness,  Luther 
grew  tired  of  the  battle  of  life.  It  seemed 
to  him  as  if  the  world  itself  must  also  be 
worn  out  and  near  its  end.  When  but  little 
past  three  score  years,  he  wrote  to  a  friend 
calling  himself,  "old,  spent,  worn,  weary, 
cold,  and  almost  sightless."  He  makes 
one  think  of  "Paul,  the  aged,"  writing  at 
the  same  time  of  life  from  captivity  in 
Rome. 

The  great  reformer  died  on  a  chance  visit 
to  Eisleben,  his  birth-place,  in  the  winter  of 


LUTHERAN    REFORMATION    203 

1546,  A.  D.  His  body  was  carried  back  to 
Wittenberg  with  an  armed  escort  of  cavalry, 
the  church  bells  tolling  in  the  villages  by 
the  way;  the  company  being  followed  along 
the  route  by  thousands  of  mourners.  At 
last,  the  worn-out  frame  was  laid  at  rest  in 
front  of  the  pulpit  of  the  Castle  Church,  on 
the  doors  of  which  his  theses  had  been 
posted  thirty  years  before. 

His  last  days  had  been  full  of  weariness 
and  despondency.  He  mourned  over  the 
wickedness  and  frivolity  which  he  saw  about 
him.  He  had  become  more  rigid  in  his  dog- 
matism with  advancing  age  and  ill-health, 
and  on  account  of  theological  differences 
had  even  fallen  out  of  sympathy  with  his 
beloved  Melanchthon,  who,  by  the  way,  ap- 
proached much  more  nearly  the  modern 
position  on  important  questions  than  did 
he,  and  who  persisted  in  his  affection  and 
respect  for  the  heroic  reformer.  No  human 
life  or  character  is  without  defects.  It  was 
impossible  for  a  rugged  nature  like  that  of 
Luther  ^o  develop  in  days  of  storm  and 
stress  the  qualities  of  gentleness  and  self- 
restraint  or  that  broad  and  sweet  charity 
which  is  ideal.  The  basis  of  his  character, 
however,  was  firm  and  true,  the  purpose  of 
his  life  noble  and  conscientious;   therefore, 


204  THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

in  spite  of  faults  and  limitations,  his  great 
powers  could  be  brought  into  service  for  a 
noble  cause.  Both  Melanchthon  and  Erasmus 
were  his  superiors  in  traits  and  attainments 
which  we  prize,  but  neither  could  have  fur- 
nished impulse  and  guidance  for  the  stupen- 
dous movement  which  then  convulsed  the 
world.  Luther  was  the  leader  par  excel- 
lence, born  for  the  hour,  and  for  the  vast 
undertaking.  Dr.  Dollinger,  of  the  Old 
Catholics,  a  life-long  opponent  of  Protes- 
tantism, recognized  and  freely  admitted  his 
rare  powers.  "He  had  complete  compre- 
hension of  the  German  nature,"  he  says. 
"The  heart  and  mind  of  his  people  was  in 
his  hand  like  a  lyre  in  the  hand  of  a  musi- 
cian. His  eloquence  was  irresistible,  sweep- 
ing everything  before  it.  Even  those 
Germans  who  abhor  him  as  the  principal 
heretic  and  seducer  of  the  nation,  cannot 
escape;  they  must  discourse  with  his  words 
and  think  with  his  thoughts." 

The  opportunity  for  Luther  and  his  con- 
freres to  work  out  the  undertaking  was  fur- 
nished in  part,  as  already  suggested,  by  the 
occupation  of  the  Emperor,  Charles  V,  in 
other  affairs,  and  by  the  constant  and  varied 
pressure  upon  him  from  two  quarters, 
Francis  I.  and  the  Popes.     Indeed,  in  Ger- 


LUTHERAN    REFORMATION    205 

many,  as  in  every  other  land,  the  religious 
movement  was  hindered  or  favored,  almost 
to  the  point  of  deciding  its  fate,  by  the  drift 
of  political  fortunes. 

Emperor  Charles  would  have  attempted 
the  suppression  of  the  Lutherans  had  he  not 
been  so  continually  involved  in  intrigues 
and  conflicts  with  Francis  for  possessions  in 
Italy,  and  also  in  setting  affairs  to  rights  in 
Spain,  the  other  half  of  his  imperial  domain. 
It  was  doubtless  providential  that  he  was 
thus  compelled  to  leave  Germany  to  take 
care  of  itself.  Therefore,  although  Luther 
was  legally  an  outlaw,  being  under  a  ban 
pushed  through  on  the  last  day  of  the  Diet 
at  Worms,  and  also  under  the  formal  con- 
demnation of  the  Church,  he  was  safe  under 
the  protection  of  the  Elector  of  Saxony. 

In  the  absence  of  the  Emperor  on  his 
political  missions,  the  Government  was  in 
the  hands  of  a  Council  of  the  Regency. 
The  nobles  composing  this  Council  hap- 
pened to  be  personally  favorable  to  reform, 
and  at  the  same  time  alive  to  the  danger  of 
thwarting  the  people,  and  so  refused  to  carry 
out  the  edict  determined  against  Luther  at 
the  Diet.  They  even  went  so  far  as  to 
reply  to  the  Pope,  who  was  urging  the  exe- 
cution of  the  edict,  with  a  list  of  a  hundred 


2o6  THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

grievances  which  Germany  had  to  allege 
against  the  Court  of  Rome.  The  Protes- 
tants were  helped,  not  long  after,  by  the 
League  of  Torgau,  composed  of  princes 
favorable  to  the  Reformation.  Soon  the 
Pope  made  alliance  with  Francis  I.  to  check 
the  power  of  the  German  Emperor,  and 
Charles  was  obliged  to  reverse  his  attitude 
toward  the  Lutherans  for  a  time,  even  seek- 
ing their  support.  The  result  of  it  all  was 
an  imperial  decree  recognizing  their  legal 
existence,  and  furnishing  a  great  landmark 
in  the  history  of  the  Reformation. 

Another  turn  of  political  affairs  set  the 
Emperor  free.  He  at  once  made  a  treaty 
with  the  Pope  and  issued  an  edict  forbidding 
the  progress  of  reform.  The  protest  of 
Elector  John,  with  some  friendly  princes 
and  fourteen  allied  cities,  gave  the  name  of 
Protestant  to  the  Lutheran  cause  at  the  Diet 
of  Spires,  1529. 

At  the  Diet  of  Augsburg,  1530,  the  Em- 
peror recently  crowned  at  Bologna  by  the 
Pope,  as  head  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire, 
determined  to  make  some  arrangement  to 
restore  unity  to  the  Church.  But  the 
Protestants  were  equally  resolved  on  putting 
forward  their  "Confession,"  drawn  up  by 
Melanchthon,  defining  the  essential  tenets  of 


LUTHERAN  REFORMATION    207 

the  reformers.  The  efforts  at  compromise 
were  therefore  unsuccessful.  The  Protestant 
princes,  and  certain  imperial  cities  of  South 
Germany  united  in  the  famous  League  of 
Smalcald,  to  resist  the  arbitrary  proceedings 
of  the  Emperor.  The  League  strengthened 
itself  by  alliance  with  France,  Denmark  and 
Bavaria,  and  the  result  was  the  Peace  of 
Nuremburg,  1532,  which  provided  that  re- 
ligious affairs  should  be  left  in  statu  quo 
until  arranged  by  a  new  Diet  for  general 
council. 

For  ten  years  after  the  Peace  of  Nurem- 
burg, Charles,  being  too  closely  occupied 
with  wars  with  Francis  I,  and  with  the 
Turks,  to  disturb  the  Protestants,  nothing 
appeared  to  check  the  rapid  progiress  of  the 
Reformation.  Protestantism  was  estab- 
lished in  the  heart  of  South  Germany,  while 
the  area  embraced  by  the  Smalcald  League 
was  extended  by  the  accession  of  princes 
and  cities,  making  a  party  sufficiently  power- 
ful to  incline  the  Emperor  toward  religious 
toleraticM. 

All  might  have  gone  well  but  for  divisions 
among  the  Protestants  themselves.  Princes 
and  cities  became  jealous  of  one  another  and 
contentions  arose.  While  thus  weakened 
by  internal  dissensions  they  found  the  Em- 


2o8  THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

peror^  who  had  been  freed  by  the  temporary- 
settlement  of  his  warlike  affairs,  renewing 
attempts,  both  open  and  concealed,  to  sup- 
press the  Reformation.  So  it  came  about 
that  the  years  which  followed  the  death  of 
Luther,  saw  intricate  conflicts  on  German 
soil.  The  German  people,  angry  at  finding 
their  country  held  by  armies  from  Spain  and 
Italy,  were,  with  difficulty,  brought  to  sub- 
mission in  South  Germany,  while,  in  the 
Northern  States,  the  resistance  was  fierce 
and  prolonged.  The  result  appeared  in  the 
Augsburg  Diet  of  1555,  where  a  religious 
peace  was  concluded,  granting  toleration 
and  certain  rights  under  the  princes.  In 
spite  of  appearances,  however,  the  seeds 
were  sown  of  a  strife,  which,  for  genera- 
tions, was  to  distract  the  land.  Charles, 
himself,  dissatisfied  with  the  proceedings, 
refused  to  have  part  in  them,  and,  after- 
ward, in  the  days  of  retirement,  in  the  Con- 
vent of  Yuste,  expressed  regret  at  having 
"allowed  the  man  who  had  stirred  up  all  the 
commotion  to  depart  in  peace  from  the  Diet 
of  Worms." 

Of  the  continental  countries  to  be  studied, 
the  next  in  time,  if  not  in  interest,  is 
Switzerland.  During  the  fifteen  years  be- 
tween the  posting  of  the  theses  of  Luther 


LUTHERAN   REFORMATION    209 

and  the  Peace  of  Nuremburg,  a  similar 
movement  was  going  on  in  ancient  Helvetia 
affecting  not  only  the  rites  of  the  Church, 
but  the  social  and  political  life  of  Swiss 
Communities.  The  movement  was  due  to 
Ulrich  Zwingli,  son  of  the  magistrate  of 
the  village  of  Wildhaus,  less  than  a  year 
younger  than  the  German  Reformer.  As  a 
youth,  bright-minded  and  eager  for  knowl- 
edge, he  took  advantage  of  excellent  oppor- 
tunities for  study  at  Vienna  and  Basel.  He 
entered  the  priesthood,  and  at  Glarus,  his 
first  charge,  he  became  a  close  student  of 
the  Greek  Testament  of  Erasmus,  even  copy- 
ing out  the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  in  order  to 
take  them  about  with  him  and  commit  them 
to  memory.  From  his  youth  his  patriotism 
was  intense,  and  he  was  greatly  distressed 
at  the  lack  of  zeal  for  their  own  country 
displayed  by  the  Swiss  mercenary  soldiers, 
and  at  the  vice  and  lawlessness  which  they 
brought  back  from  their  campaigns. 

His  first  approach  to  a  break  with  the 
Pope  came,  as  in  the  case  of  Luther,  from 
his  preaching  against  the  sale  of  indul- 
gences. This  happened  in  15 18.  In  the 
same  year  he  was  called  to  the  Cathedral 
Church  at  Zurich,  and  a  little  later  he  re- 
fused longer  to  receive  a  pension  from  the 


310  THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

Pope,  and  declared  against  all  foreign  en- 
tanglements. He  turned  more  and  more 
from  the  authority  of  the  Church  to  that  of 
the  Scriptures,  and,  in  his  sincere  reverence 
for  the  Word  became  the  leader  of  a  quiet 
but  thorough-going  religious  revolution. 
Engaging  and  forceful  in  his  personality,  he 
was  learned,  upright,  fearless  and  eloquent. 
Before  long  he  obtained  from  the  town 
council  of  Zurich  permission  for  priests  to 
preach  what  they  found  in  Scripture,  and, 
in  1523,  successfully  defended  sixty-seven 
propositions,  assailing  all  the  characteristics 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  system.  In  the  fol- 
lowing year,  he  secured  a  decree  forbidding 
the  use  of  images,  and  the  sacrifice  of  the 
mass.  Being  far  less  conservative  than 
Luther,  he  even  organized  an  independent 
church  with  representative  laymen  in  office. 
Whatever  smacked  of  superstition  was  dis- 
carded, and,  yet,  all  was  done  in  an  orderly 
manner  and  with  the  full  support  of  the 
public  authorities.  All  medieval  features 
were  abolished.  Celibacy  was  put  aside, 
and  Zwingli  himself  was  happily  married. 
Withal,  it  was  a  wholesome  religious  move- 
ment, giving  great  uplift  to  the  life  of  the 
community.  Zwingli's  views  were  broad 
and  intelligent.     He  taught  that  Christ  died 


LUTHERAN   REFORMATION    211 

for  the  entire  race;  he  considered  original 
sin  disorder  rather  than  guilt;  he  denied  the 
objective  presence  of  Christ  in  the  sacrament 
of  The  Lord's  Supper. 

From  Zurich,  the  reform  movement  spread 
to  Bern,  and  then  to  Basel  and  Schaff- 
hausen,  going  everywhere,  not  merely  in 
the  interest  of  a  free  and  regenerate  religious 
life,  but  also  of  the  body  politic.  The 
movement  was  more  rapid  and  steady  than 
in  Germany;  first,  because  Zwingli's  mind 
more  swiftly  and  freely  took  in  new  ideas; 
and,  secondly,  because  the  Reformation  in 
Switzerland  was  overlooked  by  the  author- 
ities of  the  Church  until  it  had  really  be- 
come a  fait  accompli.  Dark  days  were, 
however,  before  the  Protestants,  for  at  last 
the  Catholic  party  was  aroused.  In  1531, 
the  Forest  cantons  went  in  armed  force 
against  Zurich,  and  among  the  slain  in  the 
battle  near  the  city  was  Zwingli,  acting  as 
Chaplain.  Terms  of  peace  followed,  but 
these  were  humiliating  and  depressing  to  the 
Protestanl^  cause. 

The  sway  of  the  Reformation  in  Scandi- 
navia depended  not  a  little  upon  political 
chances  and  changes.  The  fortunes  of 
Denmark,  Norway  and  Sweden  had  been 
united  in  a  compact  of  union  since  the  end 


212  THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

of  the  fourteenth  century.  Christian  II., 
who  was  on  the  throne  at  the  time  of  the 
outbreak  in  Germany,  was  detested  for 
treachery,  and  came  to  merited  downfall  in 
1523.  His  successor,  Frederick  I.  took  oath 
to  grant  no  toleration  to  the  Lutherans  but 
within  three  years  the  reform  movement  had 
made  such  headway  as  to  secure  recognition 
from  the  king  and  to  win  the  favor  of  nobles 
who  were  hoping  to  gain  possession  of  the 
riches  of  the  Church.  Within  a  year  the 
Diet  had  ordained  that  there  should  be  reli- 
gious toleration  for  Lutherans  and  that  the 
prelates  should  look  to  the  King  and  not  to 
the  Pope  for  ratification  of  their  election. 
Under  such  support  Protestantism  naturally 
gained  speedy  ascendancy. 

There  were  times  when  the  parties  in 
Church  and  State  were  in  conflict  from 
various  motives.  Upon  the  death  of  Fred- 
erick the  clergy  asserted  themselves;  the 
deposed  king.  Christian  II.,  sought  rein- 
statement; while  in  the  important  city  of 
Liibeck  the  democracy  arose  under  the  im- 
pulse of  the  new  teaching.  The  election 
of  Christian  III.,  son  of  Frederick,  was 
brought  about;  with  the  result  that  the 
interests  of  Protestantism  were  supported 
vigorously  in  Denmark  and  in  Norway.     In 


LUTHERAN   REFORMATION    213 

Sweden  there  was  an  uprising  under  Gus- 
tavus  Vasa,  who  favored  Lutheranism  less 
from  a  deep  religious  conviction  than  from 
a  desire  to  overthrow  the  ecclesiastical  aris- 
tocracy. He  elevated  Lutherans  to  high 
office  in  Church  and  State,  and  at  a  crisis  in 
1527  resolved,  for  the  sake  of  absolutely 
needed  revenue,  to  confiscate  the  wealth  of 
the  Church.  He  pushed  the  measure 
through  the  Diet,  together  with  a  grant  to 
preachers  to  proclaim  the  pure  word  of  God. 
Protestantism  had  been  set  up  by  legal  proc- 
ess to  suit  the  purposes  of  the  king,  but  it 
soon  found  favor  with  the  people,  and,  be- 
fore the  century  closed,  the  Augsburg 
Protestant  Confession  had  been  accepted  as 
the  creed  of  the  National  Church. 

Of  the  Reformation  in  Spain  and  Italy, 
little  need  be  said  in  a  general  study  of  the 
European  movement.  Some  individual 
minds  were  stirred  by  the  new  views,  but 
the  fire  was  always  stamped  out  before  it 
could  become  a  conflagration.  In  Italy,  the 
papacy  war^  a  national  institution  to  which 
many  clung  with  patriotic  pride.  Not  a  few 
powerful  men  held  offices  of  honor  emolu- 
ment, and  were  firmly  attached  by  interest 
or  loyalty  to  the  old  order  of  things. 
Furthermore,  two  institutions  came  into  ex- 


214   THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

istence  in  both  of  these  countries  which  had 
immense  influence  in  checking  every  dis- 
coverable beginning  of  Protestantism.  These 
were  the  Inquisition,  which  was  organized 
after  the  Council  of  Trent,  on  the  model  of 
the  Spanish  Inquisition,  which  had  been  de- 
vised by  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  to  discover 
and  punish  the  Jewish  converts  who  returned 
to  their  former  faith,  and  the  Society  of 
Jesus,  founded  by  Loyola  and  propagated 
with  zeal  in  both  countries. 

The  story  of  the  inhuman  persecutions  in 
the  Netherlands,  of  the  matchless  courage 
of  the  people,  and  of  the  high-minded 
leadership  of  their  princes,  has  gone  out 
into  all  the  world.  The  general  intelli- 
gence of  every  class  in  Holland  made  that 
country  peculiarly  open  to  the  reform  move- 
ment, influences  from  which  poured  into  it 
from  both  Germany  and  France.  A  Jesuit 
historian  has  declared  that  the  Rhine  and 
the  Meuse  brought  no  more  water  to  the 
low  countries  than  they  did  religious  conta- 
gion; the  one  from  Luther  and  the  other 
from  Calvin.  Charles  V.,  whose  authority 
reached  to  the  North  Sea,  issued  edicts  of 
suppression,  though,  on  the  whole,  he  was 
fairly  considerate  to  the  end  of  his  reign. 
But  his  son,   the  fanatical  Philip  II.,  sue- 


LUTHERAN   REFORMATION    215 

ceeding  him  on  the  throne  of  Spain,  pushed 
to  the  extreme  every  measure  for  the  ob- 
literation of  both  civil  and  religious  liberty 
in  the  Belgic  provinces.  It  was  declared 
heretical  for  a  layman  even  to  read  the 
Bible,  and  every  incentive  was  offered  to 
base  men  to  act  as  informers.  Then  fol- 
lowed days  too  dark  for  belief;  save  for  the 
darker  ones  which  were  to  follow.  For 
multitudes  there  was  beheading,  burning,  or 
burying  alive.  Infuriated  mobs,  blind  to  the 
dictates  of  reason,  retaliated  by  breaking 
into  Cathedrals  and  Churches,  destroying 
pictures  and  images,  thus  giving  excuse  for 
even  severer  measures.  That  almost  impos- 
sible fiend,  the  Duke  of  Alva,  was  sent  to 
the  Low  countries  as  representative  of  his 
royal  master,  whom  he  over-matched  in 
craft  and  cruelty,  staying  not  his  hand  from 
the  slaughter  of  multitudes  and  of  the 
noblest.  Out  of  the  struggle  were  produced 
men  of  sincerity,  devotion,  courage  and 
good  statesmanship,  whose  fame  will  never 
die;  men  l^Jce  Egmont,  and  Horn  and  Wil- 
liam, the  Hero  of  Orange.  One  after  an- 
other, even  to  the  greatest  among  them, 
perished  by  execution  or  assassination;  yet, 
their  work  was  finally  accomplished,  and,  by 
1579,    the   seven    Northern    Provinces    had 


2i6  THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

formed  the  Utrecht  Union,  which  was  the 
germ  of  the  Dutch  Republic.  Philip  III., 
of  Spain,  was  compelled  to  make  a  truce 
with  the  Union,  the  independence  of  which 
was  secured  in  1648  by  the  Peace  of  West- 
phalia. 

In  France,  there  were  two  movements 
looking  toward  reform  before  the  rise  of 
Protestantism.  One  of  these  originated 
three  centuries  earlier,  when,  in  Southern 
France  the  Waldenses  flourished  in  peace 
until  an  evil  day  saw  them  nearly  extermi- 
nated by  fierce  persecution.  The  other 
came  one  century  before  the  Reformation, 
when,  in  the  German  Council  of  Constance 
and  Basel,  earnest  men  sought  a  modifica- 
tion of  the  corrupt  administration  of  the 
church.  In  the  sixteenth  century  the 
awakening  came  through  the  literary  men 
whom  Francis  I.  brought  from  Italy  to  orna- 
ment his  Court.  Poets,  artists  and  scholars 
enticed  by  the  munificence  of  the  brilliant 
king,  promoted  a  revival  of  learning,  and 
discredited  the  theology  of  medieval  times. 
To  Jaques  Lefevre  is  due  the  title  of 
"Father  of  the  French  Reformation,"  be- 
cause his  commentaries  on  the  Psalms  and 
the  Epistles  of  Paul,  about  15 10,  clearly 
taught  the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith 


LUTHERAN   REFORMATION    217 

and  the  supremacy  of  the  Bible.  He  looked 
for  the  coming  of  the  kingdom  and  said  to 
Farel,  who  became  a  leader  in  France  and 
Switzerland  five  years  before  Luther  posted 
the  theses  at  Wittenberg,  "God  will  reno- 
vate the  world  and  you  will  be  a  witness  of 
it." 

The  learned  were  giving  open  minds  to 
his  teachings  when  word  came  of  the  stir- 
rings in  Saxony,  whereupon  the  Doctors  of 
the  Sorbonne  became  alarmed.  Heresy  was 
at  once  stigmatized  by  the  faculty,  and  pun- 
ished by  the  Parliament  as  an  offence 
against  the  State;  and  the  leaders  of  the 
new  thought  were  crushed  or  banished. 
Protestantism  had  powerful  friends,  but  the 
movement  encountered  persistent  opposition 
from  the  queen-mother  and  the  chancellor. 
Francis  vacillated.  His  love  of  learning  in- 
clined him  to  freedom  of  thought,  but  he 
was  opposed  to  any  reform  which  would 
overthrow  the  Roman  Catholic  system,  and 
he  had  no  sympathy  with  attacks  on  the 
Sacrament.  ^  He  shrank  from  a  religious 
division  of  his  kingdom,  holding  to  the  old 
motto,  "One  king,  one  law,  one  faith." 

Strong  influences  from  both  sides  were 
brought  to  bear  upon  him.  The  Landgrave 
of  Hesse  came  to  negotiate  in  person  in  be- 


2i8  THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

half  of  Protestantism,  while  the  papal  party 
used  all  possible  methods  to  sustain  their 
cause.  It  was  the  rash-  act  of  over-zealous 
reformers  that  finally  turned  Francis  against 
the  Protestants.  These  enthusiasts  enraged 
the  people  and  offended  the  king  by  posting 
the  city,  and  even  the  royal  bed-chamber, 
with  placards  denouncing  the  mass.  Forth- 
with Francis  joined  in  solemn  religious 
processions,  and  gave  his  consent  to  the 
burning  of  heretics,  claiming  that  they  were 
fanatical  and  seditious.  He  became  less 
and  less  tolerant,  and  refused  to  save  the 
Waldenses  from  massacre.  As  a  result  of 
this  course  within  a  few  years  of  his  death, 
the  country  was  plunged  into  civil  war  and 
became  "the  frightful  theatre  of  the  battle 
of  sects  and  nations." 

The  work  of  the  Re-formation  in  France  is 
associated  with  the  name  of  John  Calvin. 
As  Professor  Fisher  has  said:  "To  the 
major  part  of  even  Calvinists  he  was  never 
more  than  a  bloodless  abstraction,"  yet  his 
influence  was  enormous.  Having  been  born 
only  eight  years  before  the  posting  of  the 
theses  at  Wittenberg  he  was  contemporary 
with  the  second  generation  of  reformers, 
coming  into  prominence  after  Luther's  work 
in  Germany  had  become  firmly  established 


LUTHERAN   REFORMATION    219 

and  Zwingli  had  crowned  his  labors  in 
Switzerland  by  heroic  death  on  the  battle- 
field. His  youth  was  free  from  hardship, 
his  father  being  a  man  of  ample  income  and 
of  social  standing.  His  education  was  of  a 
high  order.  For  a  while  he  looked  toward 
the  priesthood;  and  later,  upon  a  change  of 
plans  by  his  ambitious  father,  toward  the 
profession  of  a  jurist.  He  attained  marked 
excellence  in  legal  studies,  but  at  this  very 
time,  under  the  influence  of  a  relative  who 
was  the  first  Protestant  translator  of  the 
Bible  into  French,  he  began  to  direct  his 
attention  to  Scripture.  His  Greek  pro- 
fessor, somewhat  earlier  than  this,,  had 
guided  him  in  the  study  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment in  the  original.  His  conversion  was  a 
sudden  and  deep  experience,  in  which  he 
felt  on  one  hand,  the  awful  holiness  of  God, 
and,  on  the  other,  the  iniquity  of  his  own 
sinful  soul.  Penances  failed  him,  and  he 
could  only  throw  himself  on  the  mercy  of 
God.  ^ 

Somewhat  against  his  inclinations  he  be- 
came, on  returning  to  Paris,  the  recognized 
leader  of  the  Protestants,  and  the  guide  of 
those  who  sought  religious  counsel  and  in- 
struction. Before  long  a  persecution  arose 
which  drove  him  out  of  the  city,  to  find  in 


230  THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

Basel  the  shelter  and  the  seclusion  which  he 
prized.  It  was  here  that,  for  the  sake  of 
appeasing  the  fury  of  Francis  I.  against  the 
Protestants  he  wrote  his  famous  "Institutes 
of  the  Christian  Religion,"  containing  an 
introductory  appeal  to  the  king,  full  of  force 
and  eloquence  amazing  in  a  man  of  twenty- 
seven. 

In  outward  circumstances,  training,  and 
personal  characteristics,  Calvin  was  most  un- 
like the  German  leader;  and  his  writings, 
while  of  marked  effect,  are  as  far  r&moved 
in  power  of  popular  impression  from  those 
of  Luther.  It  was  the  genius  and  the  pas- 
sion of  the  German  Reformer  to  give  the 
Bible  to  the  people  in  the  simplest  forms  of 
peasant  speech,  while  the  exact  scholarship 
and  patrician  culture  of  Calvin  made  the 
"Institutes,"  both  in  French  and  Latin,  a 
distinct  contribution  to  literature,  and  a 
source  of  immediate  influence  upon  the  edu- 
cated classes  of  society.  His  logical  and 
well-trained  mind  worked  with  such  accuracy 
that  his  opinions  underwent  no  change  with 
passing  years,  and  the  revised  and  enlarged 
editions  of  his  great  work  preserved  to  the 
last  the  identity  of  his  earlier  teachings. 
His  theology  was  of  the  Augustinian  order, 
rather  than  of  the  Clementine  and  Alexan- 


LUTHERAN   REFORMATION    221 

drian  type  which  colors  the  thought  of  to- 
day. He  had  magnified  God  in  his  own 
experience  of  conversion,  and  in  his  system 
of  theological  truths  he  gave  dominant  place 
to  the  sovereignty  of  Him  who  rules  above 
human  weakness  and  sin,  and  who  has 
reasons  both  wise  and  good  for  actions 
which  are  inscrutable  to  man. 

Calvin,  having  come  to  his  conclusions 
with  care  and  reflection,  thereafter  held 
them  with  such  intensity  of  conviction  as  to 
render  him  impatient  of  dissent.  It  is  said 
that  even  his  friendly  personal  letters  were 
marked  by  a  censorious  tone,  not  easily  con- 
doned. His  irritability  was  doubtless  much 
intensified  by  physical  disorders  and  by 
crowding  cares;  so  that,  to  use  his  own  ex- 
pression, "the  wild  beasts  of  his  anger" 
raged  beyond  control.  Yet,  the  sincere 
self-sacrifice  of  his  life  and  his  devotion  to 
the  interests  of  Church  and  State  were  so 
manifest  that  after  his  death  the  Senate  of 
Geneva,  whi^h  had  constantly  witnessed  his 
disinterestedness  and  fearlessness,  spoke  of 
"the  majesty"  of  his  character. 

The  story  of  Calvin's  life  is  now  inter- 
woven with  that  of  the  Reformation  in 
Switzerland, — which  we  laid  down  at  the 
death  of  Zwingli.     The  Forest  cantons  drove 


222   THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

Protestantism  out  of  many  districts  but  it 
maintained  itself  in  Zurich,  Basel,  Bern, 
and  later  was  established  in  Geneva  by  vote 
of  the  citizens.  The  movement  in  the  latter 
city  went  to  what  now  seems  to  us  an  ex- 
treme; all  church  festivals,  except  Sunday, 
being  abolished,  together  with  various 
amusements,  such  as  dancing  and  masquer- 
ades. The  people  were  compelled  to  take 
a  solemn  oath  to  live  according  to  the  rule 
of  the  Gospel.  Such  discipline  was  too 
severe  for  a  pleasure-loving  people;  and  it 
naturally  resulted  in  discontent  and  in  a 
reaction  of  feeling.  A  strong  party  arose 
clamoring  for  the  old  order  of  things,  and 
Geneva  was  torn  by  intestine  strife. 

Through  Farel,  an  ardent  reformer,  Calvin 
was  led  to  greater  extremes  and  was  drawn 
into  the  thickest  of  these  contentions.  The 
people  were  forbidden  to  wear  ornaments  of 
any  kind,  or  to  engage  in  obnoxious  sports. 
Many  retaliated  with  bitter  hatred,  and  the 
conflict  ended  in  the  banishment  of  Calvin 
from  the  city. 

He  came  back,  however,  to  end  his  days 
there,  held  in  honor  by  the  authorities,  and 
working  effectively  for  a  new  order  of 
things.  Church  and  State  were  united. 
The  rules  of  the  Church  were  enforced  by 


LUTHERAN   REFORMATION    223 

temporal  penalties;  moral  censorship  was 
exercised  over  every  person  in  the  city;  high 
and  low,  rich  and  poor,  being  alike  brought 
under  inflexible  laws.  The  respect  of  the 
citizens  gave  Calvin  not  only  great  influence 
in  ecclesiastical  affairs  but  in  the  framing 
of  civil  legislation.  Influenced  less  by  his 
legal  studies  than  by  Hebrew  legislation  and 
by  his  own  severity  of  disposition,  innocent 
amusements  came  in  for  penalties  as  well  as 
offences  of  a  much  graver  sort.  Such  strin- 
gent regulations  brought  at  length  their  nat- 
ural fruitage  in  disaffection  and  in  a  long 
and  bitter  contest. 

The  idea  of  the  broad  function  of  the 
State  prevailed  universally  in  this  century, 
and  heresy  was  held  a  crime  to  be  punished 
by  the  civil  authorities.  Under  this  condi- 
tion of  things  occurred  the  famous  case  of 
Servetus,  a  Spaniard,  of  an  inquisitive  turn 
of  mind,  much  given  to  natural  sciences  as 
well  as  to  theological  speculation.  A  book 
which  cqntained  pantheistic  notions  came 
under  examination  and,  although  it  had 
been  published  anonymously,  caused  his 
arrest  and  conviction.  At  his  trial  he  de- 
fended his  opinions  not  only  acridly  but 
with  violent  denunciation,  caricaturing  the 
doctrine  of  the  Trinity  in  a  way  considered 


224  THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

dangerous  and  blasphemous  by  his  hearers, 
and  unnecessarily  irritating  them  by  his 
contemptuous  tone.  The  result  of  the  trial 
would  have  been  the  same  in  any  land  of 
Europe.  It  is  probable  that  Calvin  ex- 
pected, with  good  ground  from  the  previous 
course  of  Servetus,  that  the  condemned  man 
would  retract  his  errors;  but  when  he  did 
not,  and  went  to  the  stake,  Bullinger,  the 
successor  of  Zwingli,  and  even  the  gentle- 
spirited  Melanchthon,  shared  in  the  general 
opinion  of  reformers  that  no  other  course 
could  have  been  taken. 

Calvin  had  his  faults  and  limitations, 
some  traceable  to  the  temper  and  the  no- 
tions of  the  times  in  which  he  lived,  some  to 
his  disordered  physical  condition  and  over- 
taxed nervous  system,  and  some  to  the 
human  frailty  for  which  we  all  need  broad 
charity.  Yet  his  labors  were  nobly  inspired 
and  his  influence  was  widely  extended.  As 
years  went  on  men  flocked  to  him  at  Geneva 
from  all  quarters  of  Europe,  and  on  his  list 
of  correspondents  were  "monarchs,  princes, 
nobles  and  theologians."  Before  his  eyes 
closed  on  earthly  scenes  they  rested  upon 
firmly-rooted  institutions  of  learning  upon  a 
peaceful  city,  and  upon  a  people  lenient 
to   his    old    time    imperiousness,    regardful 


LUTHERAN   REFORMATION    225 

of  his  sincerity  and  appreciative  of  the 
splendid  services  rendered  to  Church  and 
State.  The  verdict  of  history  is  certainly 
against  the  minute  supervision  which  the 
Church  attempted  to  maintain  over  details 
of  conduct;  and  which  abridged  individual 
liberty,  and  excited  bitter  opposition.  At 
the  same  time  it  is  being  more  and  more 
widely  acknowledged  that  the  principles 
which  underlay  Calvin's  system  have  been 
a  powerful  factor  in  developing  independ- 
ence within  the  Church,  and  civic  liberty 
outside  of  it.  Wherever  Calvinism  spread, 
in  England,  Scotland,  Holland  and  France, 
men  learned  to  defend  their  rights  against 
the  tyranny  of  civil  rulers. 

The  results  in  France  have  yet  to  be 
rapidly  sketched.  Francis*  son,  Henry  H., 
was  no  friend  of  Protestantism.  Yet,  in 
spite  of  royal  opposition,  the  burning  of 
people  and  books,  the  movement  spread  so 
that  by  1558  there  were  two  thousand  places 
of  worship.  A  general  synod  was  secretly 
held  in  Paris  where  a  Calvanistic  confes- 
sion of  faith  and  a  Presbyterian  form  of 
church  government  were  adopted.  This  de- 
velopment so  aroused  the  king  that  he  con- 
cluded a  humiliating  peace  with  Spain  in 
order   to  use    his   army  at   home;    but   his 


226   THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

death  in  a  tournament  arrested  the  threat- 
ened persecution.  The  succession  of  his 
son,  Francis,  a  boy  of  sixteen,  weak  in 
body  and  mind,  gave  scope  to  various 
political  schemes  on  the  part  of  the  crafty 
queen-mother,  Catharine  De  Medici,  and 
the  Duke  of  Guise  and  Cardinal  Lorraine, 
uncles  of  the  widowed  queen,  Mary  Stuart. 
The  Protestants  had  become  a  powerful 
political  party,  with  princes  and  nobles 
among  their  leaders.  Such  were  the  King 
of  Navarre,  the  prince  of  Conde  and  Ad- 
miral Coligni;  the  first  of  these  being  bril- 
liant but  unreliable,  the  second,  primarily  a 
soldier;  the  third  one  of  the  heroes  of 
French  history,  able,  sagacious,  pure  and 
of  earnest  piety.  These  princes  united  to 
protect  the  young  king  from  his  untrust- 
worthy advisers;  and  by  using  the  forces  of 
Protestantism  and  making  a  show  of  bold- 
ness they  hoped  to  save  the  country  from 
civil  war.  They  were  not  wholly  successful; 
yet  more  liberal  terms  were  granted  to  the 
Huguenots,  as  the  party  now  came  to  be 
called.  This  aroused  the  Guises  to  set  on 
foot  shrewd  plots,  and  to  institute  rigorous 
measures  to  crush  the  Protestant  leaders, 
but  before  this  came  to  actual  accomplish- 
ment the    young  king   died   and   a   second 


LUTHERAN   REFORMATION    237 

time  a  reprieve  was  granted  to  the  party  of 
reform. 

During  the  minority  of  Charles  IX.,  a 
greater  degree  of  tolerance  was  exercised 
and  Protestantism  flourished  among  all 
classes  of  society.  But  at  a  great  confer- 
ence comprised  of  notables  from  both 
parties,  held  in  1561,  there  was  a  failure  to 
reach  terms  of  agreement,  and  the  hopes 
which  had  been  cherished  of  a  religious 
union  were  dispelled;  even  the  Edict  of 
Saint  Germain,  of  the  following  year,  ac- 
complished nothing  on  account  of  the 
bigotry  and  fierceness  of  the  Catholic  party. 
The  wanton  massacre  of  innocent  Hugue- 
nots by  the  soldiers  of  the  Duke  of  Guise 
aroused  Protestants  everywhere  in  France, 
and  plunged  the  country  into  a  succession  of 
civil  wars  which  ended  only  with  the  acces- 
sion to  the  throne  of  Henry  IV. 

In  these  wars  the  Huguenots  acted  mainly 
in  self-defence  and  took  up  arms  chiefly  for 
the  protection  of  those  who  were  being 
wantonly  persecuted,  even  Coligni  enlisting 
with  reluctance  and  in  answer  to  the  tears 
and  entreaties  of  his  wife.  It  is  unnecessary 
to  recount  all  the  incidents  of  the  struggle, 
or  to  record  all  the  plots  and  counter-plots, 
all  the  betrayals,  and  all  the  heroisms.     The 


228  THE   CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

stream  of  events  was  not  like  a  slow-moving 
tide,  but  like  a  turbulent  stream  that  often 
turns  on  itself,  and  only  after  dashing  over 
the  rocks  that  obstruct  its  course  finally 
reaches  the  sea.  The  event  destined  forever 
to  outrank  all  others  in  horror  and  infamy 
was  the  notorious  massacre  of  August  24th, 
1572.  So  alarmed  by  the  ascendancy  which 
the  noble  Coligni,  by  the  grandeur  of  his 
character,  had  gained  over  the  king,  Cath- 
arine, the  queen-mother,  instigated  the 
Guises  and  others  to  plot  his  assassination. 
The  first  attempt  resulted  only  in  a  wound, 
but  nothing  daunted,  the  conspirators  now 
filled  the  mind  of  the  king  with  frightful 
stories  of  Protestant  plots  for  his  overthrow, 
and  finally  persuaded  him  to  sign  the  death 
warrant  of  Coligni.  "Then,"  in  frantic 
tones,  Charles  cried,  "let  not  a  Huguenot 
live  to  reproach  me  for  the  perfidy  of  such  a 
deed."  They  took  him  at  his  word  and  the 
work  of  blood  began  on  the  evening  before 
"St.  Bartholomew's  Day,"  and  ended  with 
the  slaughter  of  two  thousand  in  Paris,  and 
more  than  twenty  thousand  throughout 
France.  The  report  of  the  massacre  was 
greeted  in  Rome  by  the  Te  Deum,  and  in 
Madrid  with  shouts  of  joy. 

In  all  other  countries,  both  Catholic  and 


LUTHERAN   REFORMATION    229 

Protestant,  the  atrocity  was  regarded  with 
horror.  Liberal  Catholics  advocated  tolera- 
tion, and  Henry  HI.,  in  1576,  two  years 
after  his  inauguration,  granted  complete  re- 
ligious freedom  outside  of  Paris.  But, 
under  pressure  of  the  Guise  faction,  this 
policy  was  abandoned,  and  again  the  wars 
went  on  until  the  succession  of  Henry 
IV.,  1589.  The  king,  to  secure  the  consent 
of  the  Catholics,  and  avoid  bloodshed, 
adopted  by  an  act  of  outward  conformity 
the  religion  of  Rome,  but  inwardly  kept  his 
views  unchanged  and  adhered  to  his  purpose 
to  protect  the  Protestants.  Nine  years 
later,  in  1598,  came  the  famous  Edict  of 
Nantes,  by  which  the  Huguenots  secured 
some  measures  of  that  religious  freedom  for 
which  they  had  maintained  such  an  heroic 
struggle,  several  fortified  cities  being  left 
in  their  hands  as  a  guarantee  for  their 
security. 

The  interruption  of  the  reform  movement 
which  at  oi^e  time  seemed  about  to  sweep 
over  all  Europe  was  due  in  part  to  the  wars 
of  religion,  in  part  to  divisions  between  the 
Protestants  themselves  on  theological  ques- 
tions; in  part,  to  a  wholesome  change  in  the 
Catholic  church  in  respect  both  to  moral 
improvement  and  a  deepening  of  real  reli- 


230THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

gious  zeal  within  that  body,  and  in  part  to 
its  freedom  from  internal  divisions  and 
consequent  swiftness  and  strength  of  efforts 
for  defense  and  aggression.  For  these 
reasons  the  organized  movement  of  reform 
was  shut  into  narrower  bounds  and  accom- 
plished less  than  had  been  hoped  from  it. 

The  Reformation  is  historically  traceable 
throughout  its  whole  course,  from  the 
earliest  inception  to  a  fairly  definite  con- 
clusion. It  lies  between  the  beginning  of 
the  sixteenth  and  the  middle  of  the  sev- 
enteenth centuries,  so  far  as  the  life  of 
the  event  is  concerned.  It  had,  like  all 
historical  events,  a  limited  career,  but  as 
Guizot  remarks,  it  has  a  hold  upon  the 
past  and  all  the  future.  In  this  aspect  it 
has  no  bounds  save  those  of  the  develop- 
ment of  the  human  race.  It  may  be  said, 
therefore,  of  the  Reformation,  that  while  it 
culminated  in  the  Peace  of  Westphalia,  in 
1648,  its  influence  went  on  working  silent 
and  unobserved  changes  in  men's  thinking 
and  in  their  mutual  relations  in  Church  and 
State.  The  process  is  not  yet  complete  and 
will  not  be  until  pure  religion  and  perfect 
liberty  shall  be  established  throughout  the 
whole  world. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  ENGLISH  REFORMATION 

The  religious  reformation  of  England  oc- 
cupied nearly  the  same  period  as  the  refor- 
mation in  continental  lands;  but  it  has 
features  all  its  own.  Indeed  its  course  and 
characteristics  are  so  very  unlike  those  per- 
taining to  the  revolution  across  the  channel 
as  to  require  study  by  themselves.  The 
movement  was  both  political  and  religious. 
The  rupture  between  England  and  Rome 
was  made  in  an  issue  between  the  sovereign 
of  a  State  and  the  sovereign  of  a  Church; 
but  that  rupture  had  both  antecedents  and 
sequences.  Slower  to  awake,  the  English 
Reformation  was  more  fundamental  and 
thorough  than  that  which  was  reshaping  the 
religious  life  of  Western  Europe.  Although 
more  than  a  decade  went  by  after  Luther 
began  his  agitations  before  England  showed 
signs  of  laying  aside  loyal  obedience  to  the 
Pope,  there  had  been  for  generations,  a 
strong,  though  silent  current  setting  in  the 
direction  of  freedom  and  enlightenment, 
and  destined  in  the  end  to  accomplish  more 
231 


232   THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

than  was  signalized  by  the  Treaty  of  West- 
phalia. The  movement  was  to  ripen  into 
Puritanism. 

Puritanism  was  the  reformation  of  the 
Reformation.  It  was  the  second  stage  of 
that  distinctive  movement.  It  was  an  ad- 
vanced chapter  in  the  book  that  tells  of  the 
making  over  of  the  Christian  Church  after 
the  convulsions  of  the  early  centuries  and 
the  stagnation  of  the  middle  ages.  The 
theater  of  the  first  Reformation  was  the  con- 
tinent,   that  of  the  second   was  the  island 

fk  kingdom  of  Britain.  The  first  movement 
was  fundamental.  It  resulted  in  throwing 
off  the  incubus  of  popery  and  priestcraft 
making  possible  individualism  and  faith; 
but  in  course  of  time  it  spent  itself.  The 
problem  was  too  complex  to  be  completely 
worked  out  in  one  field  or  in  a  single  age. 
Disturbing  elements  and  tendencies  at 
length  came  in  and  the  great  spiritual  forces 
which  had  given  it  power  were  dissipated. 
The  reformation  was  unfinished.  It  crystal- 
lized too  soon  and  needed  to  be  broken  up 
by  a  second  revolution. 

r^  This  later  overturning  in  the  interest  of 
liberty  and  righteousness,  was  much  more 
protracted  than  was  the  Lutheran  reforma- 
tion, and  fortunately,  the  whole  movement 


ENGLISH  REFORMATION       233 

from  inception  to  completion  can  be  traced 
more  clearly  through  the  centuries.  But  it 
can  be  fairly  understood  only  by  those  who 
are  willing  to  exercise  patience  in  the  study 
of  a  condition  of  society,  church  and  state, 
painfully  unlike  our  own.  Hasty  prejudice 
and  censorious  criticism  are  alike  unfitted  to 
lay  bare  the  whole  truth.  We  must  go  back 
to  the  study  of  earlier  and  cruder  times  with 
sympathy  and  enthusiasm,  forgetting  the 
acquirements  of  our  own  generation  and 
walking  in  generous  friendship  with  men 
who  were  doing  their  best  under  limitations 
and  complications  of  which  we  may  never 
have  dreamed. 

If  we  are  willing  to  do  this  we  can  put 
ourselves  in  the  way  of  a  far  better  under- 
standing of  the  Puritans  than  could  their 
contemporaries  in  the  reign  of  Charles  II. 
We  can  get  perspective  and  proportion, 
light  and  shade.  We  can  appreciate  diffi- 
culties and  weigh  tendencies,  we  can  dis- 
count failujes  and  honor  motives;  we  can 
exercise  pity  and  generous  consideration  for 
those  who  wrought  out  at  great  sacrifice  the 
advantages  which  we  have  inherited.  We 
go  back  in  thought,  from  a  time  of  civil  and 
personal  liberty  and  of  religious  freedom, 
from   an   age   of    general    intelligence    and 


234  THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

prosperity,  of  secure  peace,  of  prevalent 
good  will,  from  a  generation  that  at  least 
makes  a  boast  of  tolerance  and  hopefulness, 
to  a  time  when  all  these  things  were  con- 
spicuously wanting.  We  go  back  to  ages  of 
ignorance,  prejudice,  bigotry,  of  despotisms 
and  oppressions,  of  cruel  imprisonments  and 
tortures,  to  times  of  moral  corruption  when 
life  was  tainted  in  the  home,  in  social 
gatherings,  even  in  the  so-called  Christian 
church;  when  the  head  of  the  Church  was  a 
royal  libertine;  the  bishops  idle,  luxurious, 
and  subservient;  the  clergy  vicious  and 
uneducated;  the  rich  covetous  and  oppress- 
ive; when  superstition  clung  to  the  simplest 
offices  of  religion  and  hypocrisy  lurked 
beneath  priestly  vestments.  We  have 
been  too  much  out  of  sympathy  with  the 
stern  Puritan  who  clung  with  stupid  and 
obstinate  conscientiousness  to  moral  and  re- 
ligious tenets  often  unlovely  or  insignificant; 
but  now  we  see  that  he  was  made  severe  and 
unrelenting  by  the  times  in  which  he  lived. 
He  was  compelled  to  set  his  face  like  a  flint 
against  customs  which  were  irretrievably 
evil.  There  was  for  him  as  a  conscientious 
and  earnest  man  no  possible  compromise, 
no  half-way  grounds,  no  concessions,  no 
relaxations.     He  was  as  one  who  pulls  his 


ENGLISH  REFORMATION        235 

boat  against  a  mighty  current.  If  he 
dawdled  at  the  oars  he  drifted  with  the  tide  of 
evil.  The  Puritan  was  under  compulsion  to 
be  zealous  and  unrelenting,  leaving  the  gen- 
tlenesses and  the  amenities  of  life  to  a  day 
whose  dawning  was  not  for  his  weary  eyes 
to  see. 

The  name  was  invented  and  first  applied 
during  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  but  the  move- 
ment which  was  then  christened  Puritanism 
began  in  time  more  remote  in  protests  and 
struggles  against  enforced  limitations  in  the 
exercise  of  religion.  It  has  often  been  re- 
ferred to  as  if  it  were  a  convulsion  of  human 
nature,  an  outburst  in  social  and  religious 
life,  a  startling  phenomenon  of  a  certain 
period  of  English  history.  On  the  contrary 
it  made  its  approach  by  insensible  steps, 
finally,  it  came  to  a  culmination,  and  after  a 
time  it  passed  away.  The  bud  was  formed, 
the  flower  blossomed,  then  the  withered 
petals  fell  to  the  ground. 

Be  it  rememBered  that  the  form  of  Chris- 
tianity introduced  into  England,  in  the  days 
of  Gregory  the  Great,  bore  the  stamp  of 
Rome.  At  the  very  first  it  was  marked  by 
superstition,  formalism,  external  authority. 
Yet  under  the  efficient  reign  of  good  King 
Alfred    there   was    an   appreciable    gain    in 


236  THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

intelligence  and  manliness.  Alfred  com- 
plained that  not  a  priest  south  of  the 
Thames  could  translate  Latin  or  Greek  into 
his  mother-tongue,  and  he  gave  himself  to 
the  task  of  lifting  the  ideals  of  the  people, 
by  educating  their  leaders.  Schools  were 
established,  and  the  University  of  Oxford 
was  founded.  After  his  death  something 
of  a  reaction  set  in,  and  under  the  baleful 
influence  of  St.  Dunstan  the  period  follow- 
ing was  characterized  by  superstition  and  low 
spirituality.  In  a  couple  of  centuries  Wil- 
liam of  Normandy  brought  into  play  new 
forces  which,  on  the  whole,  worked  for  a 
higher  civilization  and  against  papal  influ- 
ences. But  when  he  passed  from  the  stage 
there  sprang  up  "a  crop  of  more  pliable 
kings"  whom  the  popes  could  use.  Among 
these  was  King  John,  the  weakest  and  basest 
tool  of  the  papacy. 

^It  is  not  until  we  come  to  Edward  III. 
(1327-1377),  one  of  the  most  vigorous  and 
statesmanlike  of  English  sovereigns,  that  we 
find  any  active  resistance  to  the  tyranny  of 
Rome.  It  was  during  his  reign  that  Wyclif 
began  his  preparatory  work  for  the  great 
reformation  which  was  to  follow  two  centuries 
later.  He  has  been  aptly  called  "the  father 
of  dissent  from  Rome  and  the  progenitor  of 


ENGLISH  REFORMATION        237 

the  Puritans."  From  him  came  "the  first 
breath  of  healthy  doctrine  that  had  passed 
over  England  for  many  a  weary  day." 
Well  versed  in  the  philosophy  and  learning 
of  the  day  he  became  the  discoverer  of  a 
new  moral  world.  His  translation  of  the 
Bible  from  priestly  Latin  into  vernacular 
English  gave  the  people  access  to  vital 
truths  without  the  intervention  of  a  priest. 

The  awakening  the  popular  mind  to  new 
thoughts  and  standards,  which  he  accom- 
plished, was  the  inauguration  of  that  great 
movement  which  culminated  in  the  glorious 
revolution  under  the  Prince  of  Orange  three 
centuries  and  a  half  later. 

Ten  years  after  the  death  of  Wyclif  Lol- 
lardism,  the  fruit  of  the  preaching  by  his 
"Poor  Priests,"  threatened  to  overturn  the 
Ueligious  life  of  England.  In  this  humble 
democratic  movement  we  find  the  first  recog- 
nition of  a  minister  as  qualified  for  his  office 
by  virtue  of  the  Scriptures  and  without 
dependence  on  Rome  or  Councils.  The 
movement  touched  all  classes,  the  plough- 
men, the  grim-visaged  men-at-arms,  and  the 
nobles  of  the  court.  It  is  true  that  persecu- 
tion under  the  heavy  hand  of  the  foreign 
oppressor  held  it  somewhat  in  check,  but 
the  principles   which  had  come  from  Wye- 


238   THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

lif's  Bible  were  scattered  far  and  wide,  in 
spite  of  all  attempts  at  suppression.  The 
enemies  of  progress  might  wreak  their  im- 
potent rage  upon  the  disinterred  body  of 
the  reformer  and  scatter  his  ashes  upon  the 
moving  waters  but  that  would  only  symbolize 
the  spreading  of  the  truths  he  had  incul- 
cated. As  the  quaint  Fuller  has  put  it — 
"Swift  hath  conveyed  his  ashes  into  Avon, 
Avon  into  Severn,  Severn  into  the  narrow 
seas,  they  into  the  main  ocean.  And  thus 
the  ashes  of  Wyclif  are  the  emblem  of  his 
doctine,  which  now  is  dispersed  all  the  world 
over." 

Thus  we  come  in  our  hasty  review  to  the 
beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century  and  the 
significant  reign  of  Henry  VIII.  The  door 
now  opens  upon  modern  history.  As  Boling- 
broke  declared:  "In  this  new  era  all  those 
events  happened  which  have  produced  so 
vast  a  change  in  the  customs  and  interests 
of  European  nations,  and  in  the  whole 
policy,  ecclesiastical  and  civil,  of  these 
parts  of  the  world."  The  great  movement 
which  we  are  endeavoring  to  trace  was  inti- 
mately connected  with  all  the  events  which 
mark  the  quickening  of  the  human  mind  and 
the  enlargement  of  human  enterprise,  j  Now 
came  the  invention  of  printing,  the  peopling 


ENGLISH  REFORMATION       239 

of  new  lands,  the  development  of  new  com- 
mercial undertakings,  the  dispersion  of 
learned  men,  the  spread  of  revolutionary- 
ideas.  In  England  a  host  of  men  were 
quickened  by  the  teachings  of  Luther  and 
Zwingli  and  longed  for  a  reformation  of 
the  religious  life.  Latimer,  at  Cambridge, 
maintained  that  the  Bible  should  always  be 
read  in  the  vernacular.  Closely  following 
him  were  the  two  illustrious  scholars,  Ridley 
and  Cranmer,  both  of  whom  insisted  upon 
the  supreme  authority  of  the  mind.  The 
revolution  which  they  inaugurated  would 
have  come  a  score  of  years  earlier  but  for 
the  tremendous  influence  of  Cardinal  Wol- 
sey,  who,  as  the  determined  enemy  of  the 
Reformation,  controlled  England  in  the 
interest  of  his  unscrupulous  master  and  the 
Pope.  At  last,  personal  questions  separated 
Henry  from  the  papacy,  making  him  curse 
Pontiff  and  Cardinals,  and  barricade  Eng- 
land against  Rome.  Whereas,  hitherto,  all 
protests  against  the  errors  of  the  Roman 
church  had  been  met  "with  frowns  and  frets, 
with  fire  and  faggot,"  the  way  was  now  open 
for  free-minded  lovers  of  a  simple  Bible  re- 
ligion to  take  their  stand  against  priestcraft. 
The  best  part  of  the  whole  movement  was 
the    opening    of    the    Scriptures   to    many 


240   THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

minds,  for  the  royal  proclamation  of  1537 
declared  in  favor  of  the  English  Bible,  thus 
giving  the  truth  of  God  free  course  into 
minds  hitherto  dull  and  unspiritual.  Those 
who  came  under  the  power  of  the  Bible 
maintained  the  struggle  for  liberty  of 
thought  and  conscience.  D'Aubigny  rec- 
ognized this  source  of  new  life  and  hope, 
declaring  that:  "The  Reformation  in  Eng- 
land to  an  even  greater  extent  than  that  of 
the  continent  was  effected  by  the  Word  of 
God."  There  were  no  commanding  leaders 
like  Luther,  Calvin  or  Zwingli,  but  the 
Bible,  itself  widely  circulated,  accomplished 
the  work  of  spiritual  reformation. 

It  is  easy  now  to  see  the  blunder  made  by 
the  English  Reformers  in  continuing  to  ac- 
knowledge the  king  as  head  of  the  church.  We 
readily  exclaim:  Why  should  a  church  which 
claims  a  divine  master  as  its  head  be  made 
dependent  on  royal  assent!  If  it  has  the 
higher  leadership  and  is  endowed  with  the 
prerogative  of  free  conscience  why  submit 
itself  to  the  whims  of  an  impulsive  and 
erratic  sovereign!  But  the  times  were  not 
ripe  for  such  advanced  doctrine,  and  Henry 
took  the  place  in  the  church  once  held  by 
the  expelled  Pope,  and  hence  the  whole 
enterprise  of  working  out  purity  and  sim- 


ENGLISH  REFORMATION       241 

plicity  became  a  complicated  one.  Convo- 
cations composed  of  members  more  or  less 
servile  and  conscienceless,  were  called  by 
royal  mandate;  and  every  deliverance  was 
in  a  measure  tainted  by  the  baleful  influ- 
ence of  men  inclined  either  to  papacy  or 
irreligion.  There  could  be  no  general  har- 
mony. I  Two  parties  of  radically  opposed 
factions  were  gradually  developed;  one 
party  holding  hard  and  fast  by  the  old  ways, 
the  other  eager  to  achieve  a  more  complete 
reformation.  Hot  debates  were  always  in 
order,  usually  ending  in  a  compromise  of 
radical  differences,  in  which  "Popery  and 
Protestantism  kissed  each  other."  Scrip- 
ture and  the  early  creeds  were,  however, 
recognized,  and  the  doctrine  of  justification 
by  faith  asserted;  but  the  existence  of  pur- 
gatory was  not  denied,  auricular  confession 
was  tolerated,  and  the  use  of  images  of  the 
saints  for  certain  specified  purposes  was  per- 
mitted. Although  much  was  gained,  seeds 
of  trouble  were  left  in  the  soil  to  germinate 
for  a  future  harvest  time.  Neither  party 
could  be  satisfied.  The  problem  had  not 
been  fully  solved.  Reformers  were  dis- 
tressed over  the  papist  ingredients  remain- 
ing in  the  confessions;  while  the  Romanists 
treated   the   articles   which   bore   the  royal 


242  THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

sanction  with  undisguised  contempt  and 
scouted  the  ecclesiastical  supremacy  of  the 
new  Head  of  the  Church.  Meanwhile,  there 
was,  of  course,  confusion  and  contradiction 
in  the  preaching  of  the  pulpits,  some  con- 
tinuing in  the  old  papistic  doctrine  and 
interpretation,  others  proclaiming  a  simpler 
and  more  spiritual  way.  So  it  went  on 
through  the  long  reign  of  Henry,  the  royal 
influence  turning  more  and  more  toward 
popish  methods,  and  affording  occasion  for 
a  deeper  and  more  radical  work  on  behalf  of 
religious  liberty. 

The  reign  which  followed  became  a 
^''memorable  one,  for  in  it  began  a  movement 
for  non-conformity  to  the  established  order 
of  worship,  which  afterward  proved  to  be 
the  very  seed-germ  of  Puritanism.  The 
king  was  but  a  boy  of  ten  at  his  coronation, 
and  at  his  death,  in  1553,  had  lived  but  six- 
teen years.  The  real  direction  of  affairs 
must  have  come  from  the  power  behind  the 
throne,  and  fortunately  this  was  in  favor  of 
the  Protestant  enterprises.  Some  articles 
of  oppression  passed  during  the  later  years 
of  his  father  were  reversed,  exiles  were 
brought  back,  and  worthy  men  exalted. 
Special  provision  was  also  made  for  a 
higher  order  of   preaching  throughout   the 


ENGLISH  REFORMATION       243 

kingdom,  and  a  new  Service  Book  was 
introduced  for  church  worship.  All  might 
have  gone  well  and  the  advance  toward  a 
better  state  of  things  might  have  been  signal 
but  for  the  attempt  to  enforce  these  changes 
by  harsh  legislation.  No  other  doctrines 
could  be  preached;  no  other  Book  of  Service 
could  be  used;  no  word  could  be  uttered 
even  by  way  of  criticism,  save  on  pain  of 
fine  and  imprisonment.  It  has  been  well 
said  that  "these  enactments  present  the  sad- 
dest and  most  illogical  of  farces — a  Protes- 
tant Inquisition."  The  advocate  of  the  free 
gospel  had  turned  persecutor,  only  to  fail 
dismally.  Not  even  the  Bible  can  be  forced 
into  unwilling  hands;  the  best  of  prayer- 
books  cannot  be  made  an  aid  to  devotion 
under  threats  and  penalties.  "Nothing 
prejudices  like  compulsion."  The  thumb- 
screw and  the  stocks  never  made  converts. 
It  is  no  wonder,  therefore,  that  though 
Cranmer  and  his  supporters  were  zealous 
against  the  flagrant  evils  of  Romanism,  they 
succeeded  only  in  driving  into  revolt  those 
who  would  otherwise  have  been  cordially 
acquiescent.  There  was  not  a  Protestant  in 
the  land  who  would  not  have  applauded  the 
changes  which  had  been  introduced,  if  only 
their  free  judgment  had  been  respected. 


244  THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

The  half  dozen  years  of  the  reign  of  Ed- 
ward VI.  were  fruitful  in  beginnings  only, 
and  when  his  early,  and,  perhaps,  untimely, 
death,  opened  the  way  for  Mary  to  ascend 
the  throne  "a  vile  fk>od  of  popery  swept 
over  England."  It  will  not  be  necessary  to 
chronicle  the  horrors  of  her  bloody  reign, 
the  darkest  and  dreariest  in  English  history. 
She  came  into  power  giving  uncounted 
promises  to  create  no  disturbances,  but  from 
the  first,  under  the  influence  of  her  husband, 
Philip  of  Spain,  her  heart  was  pledged  to 
the  Romish  motto,  "No  faith  to  be  kept 
with  heretics,"  and  to  that  secret  pledge  she 
was  unflinchingly  true.  Protestant  pulpits 
were  shackled,  popish  bishops  were  exalted. 
Both  parliament  and  the  Convocation  of 
Clergy  were  packed  with  servile  tools,  and 
England  was  reconciled  to  Rome.  Intoler- 
ance without  a  gleam  of  charity  brooded 
over  all  her  councils.  The  prisons  were 
crammed  with  the  victims  of  religious  in- 
tolerance, and  Smithfield  regained  the  ter- 
rors in  which  it  had  been  clothed  in  the 
days  of  Lollardism.  Yet,  strange  to  say. 
Protestantism  lost  nothing.  As  Hallan  as- 
serts: "A  sort  of  instinctive  reasoning 
taught  the  people  that  the  truth  of  a  reli- 
gion begins  to  be  very  suspicious  when  it 


ENGLISH  REFORMATION       245 

stands  in  need  of  prisons  and  scaffolds  to 
eke  out  its  evidences."  The  reign  of  blood 
created  in  many  breasts  Protestant  convic- 
tions; and,  so  it  came  about  that  the  Puri- 
tanism which  had  been  born  in  the  favor  of 
Edward  flourished  in  spite  of  the  ruthless- 
ness  of  ruthless  Mary. 

The  death  of  the  queen,  in  1558,  set 
Rome  aghast;  raised  the  hopes  of  the  Re- 
formers, and  delighted  the  refugees  with 
the  prospects  of  speedy  return.  England 
awoke  as  from  a  nightmare,  and  the  terror 
of  the  hour  of  darkness  was  dissipated,  for 
the  scepter  had  come  to  the  hands  of  Eliza- 
beth, an  avowed  Protestant.  The  nation  did 
well  to  rejoice,  for  the  contrast  of  the  reign 
of  the  new  queen  with  that  of  her  popish 
sister  was  amazing  so  far  as  all  that  pertains 
to  prosperity  and  good  order  were  con- 
cerned. The  clear-minded  and  imperious 
daughter  of  Henry  was  an  impossible  sub- 
ject for  Rome. 

For  fifty  years  Protestantism  was  to  have 
assured  protection,  and  yet  Puritanism  was 
to  find  its  development  not  through  good 
fortunes  and  royal  favors,  but  only  by  fight- 
ing its  way  toward  power  and  privilege. 
Elizabeth  would  go  as  far  as  the  most  ultra 
Protestant   in  the  matter  of   revolt  against 


246   THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

popish  interference  with  civil  and  religious 
affairs,  but  not  one  step  in  advance  in  other 
directions.  There  should  be  a  well-ordered 
English  church,  subject  in  its  government  to 
her  own  dictation;  but,  that  church  could 
have  no  modification  and  no  rival.  When, 
therefore,  the  religious  enactments  of  Mary 
had  been  repealed,  the  exiles  brought  back, 
and  some  new  regulations  issued  for  church 
service,  the  final  limit  had  been  reached,  and 
Elizabeth  set  herself  with  hard  and  bitter 
heart  against  any  further  attempts  at  reform. 
She  gloried  in  her  ecclesiastical  supremacy, 
and  her  temper  brooked  no  contradiction. 
To  her  mind  Puritanism  was  a  "specially 
impudent  innovation"  tending  to  sap  the 
very  foundation  of  the  church.  Like  her 
father,  she  indulged  in  vast  assumptions  of 
authority,  and,  in  her  arrogance,  was  im- 
patient of  any  hint  of  independent  thinking, 
on  the  part  of  others,  even  in  matters  least 
essential.  She  would  tolerate  no  ministers 
in  her  pulpits  who  differed  from  her  in 
opinion,  and  those  who  opposed  her  royal 
will  she  would  not  allow  to  depart  in  peace. 
Her  bondage  extended  to  every  appoint- 
ment, and  to  every  official  action.  There 
could  be  no  synod  or  convention  of  repre- 
sentatives of  the  people  convened  to  regulate 


ENGLISH  REFORMATION       247 

matters  of  common  interest.  There  could 
be  no  convocation  of  clergy  save  as  assem- 
bled by  royal  command;  nor  could  they  then 
transact  any  business  save  by  particular  war- 
rant. 

In  her  attitude  toward  ecclesiastical  affairs 
Elizabeth  had  but  one  end  in  view — the 
preservation  of  peace  and  the  upbuilding  of 
the  authority  of  the  crown.  She  is  usually 
described  as  a  Lutheran  of  moderate  type, 
but  John  Richard  Green  declares  that  "no 
woman  ever  lived  who  was  so  totally  desti- 
tute of  the  sentiment  of  religion."  So  far 
as  her  personal  convictions  were  concerned, 
the  theological  beliefs  and  controversies 
which  swayed  others  left  her  intellectual  and 
moral  life  untouched;  but  for  the  sake  of 
unity  throughout  the  kingdom  she  de- 
manded conformity,  overriding  the  con- 
science and  judgment  of  her  subjects  in 
utter  indifference  to  the  religious  scruples 
upon  which  she  trampled. 

The  immediate  result  of  this  severity  was 
to  scatter  over  the  continent  men  of  learning 
and  high  character,  especially  ministers  of 
the  prohibited  faith.  They  sought  out  cen- 
ters of  religious  thought  in  the  cities  of  Ger- 
many, Switzerland,  and  France.  In  due 
time  they  came  back  or  wrote  to  friends  and 


248   THE   CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

thus  the  freest  and  most  advanced  ideas  of 
the  Reformation  were  planted  in  English 
soil. 

So  it  came  about  that  whether  the  ruler 
was  Papist  or  Protestant,  Puritanism  grew 
apace.  The  people  became  more  and  more 
intelligent,  thoughtful  and  independent, 
and  were  less  easily  harried  into  conformity 
to  any  established  order  of  worship.  The 
universities  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge,  the 
great  metropolis,  and  even  the  country  at 
large,  began  to  lean  toward  Puritanism. 
There  was  no  open  uprising  in  behalf  of  the 
movement  which  had  now  been  christened 
by  its  historical  and  immortal  name,  but  the 
leavening  process  went  on  in  spite  of  all  op- 
position. The  press  multiplied  books  and 
pamphlets  and  the  new  ideas  were  sown 
broadcast.  The  people  with  Saxon  love  of 
fair  play,  and  with  awakened  intelligence 
were  beginning  to  say,  "If  the  bishops  did 
not  fear  discussion  they  would  not  padlock 
free  speech."  So  they  opened  their  ears  to 
the  new  doctrines  of  a  complete  reformation. 

Furthermore,  some  of  the  measures  for 
suppression  worked  in  unlooked-for  ways,  in 
the  interest  of  Puritanism.  Ministers  who 
had  been  dismissed  from  court  were  taken 
as  private  tutors  into  families  of  the  middle 


ENGLISH  REFORMATION       249 

class  and  of  the  gentry.  Here  protected 
from  oppression  they  did  not  fail  to  imbue 
many  minds  with  hatred  for  tyranny,  and 
with  passion  for  political  and  religious  lib- 
erty. 

It  is  to  be  noted,  however,  that  the  Puri- 
tans in  Elizabeth's  time  were  not  Dissenters, 
they  were  not  even  Presbyterians.  They 
belonged  to  the  English  church,  and  there 
they  proposed  to  stay.  All  they  asked  was  the 
complete  reform  of  that  church.  At  first, 
even  the  most  advanced  among  them  were 
non-conformists  only  in  respect  to  deviation 
from  some  prescribed  regulations  in  the  per- 
formance of  public  worship.  They  did  not 
ask  for  liberty  to  withdraw  from  the  national 
church,  but  only  for  liberty  within  the 
church,  to  which  they  fondly  clung,  to  wor- 
ship according  to  their  own  ideas  of  Chris- 
tian simplicity  and  purity.  As  to  the 
principle  of  national  authority  in  church 
matters,  that  was  not  a  grievance  save  as  it 
came  in  conflict  with  conscientious  ways  of 
thinking.  The  party  which  went  so  far  as 
to  desire  a  break  with  the  national  church, 
adopting  as  a  motto,  "Reformation  without 
tarrying,"  became  known  as  "Separatists." 

These  broke  away  from  the  more  con- 
servative Puritans  and  stood  out  for  a  prin- 


250   THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

ciple  of  their  own,  the  independence  of  the 
individual  church,  and  finally  wrought  out 
their  scheme  of  church  government  as  Pil- 
grims upon  the  New  England  shores.  The 
greater  number  of  the  reformers,  however, 
continued  as  Puritans,  in  a  definite  party, 
committed  to  the  national  church,  but  refus- 
ing to  accept  regulations  which  they  con- 
sidered dangerously  defiling.  This  gave 
ground  for  the  sarcasm  of  the  bishops  who 
sneered  at  them  as  over-zealous  for  purity, 
and  hated  them  as  branded    "Puritans." 

The  Tudors  were  followed  by  the  Stuarts, 
and  the  movement  which  had  steadily  grown 
since  the  brief  reign  of  Edward  VI.  con- 
tinued to  flourish  under  the  new  dynasty 
which  it  was  destined  at  last  to  overthrow. 
It  will  not  be  needful  to  detail  the  histories 
of  the  four  kings  who  had  yet  to  play  their 
parts  before  the  great  revolution.  Not  one 
of  them  had  a  respectable  character,  enter- 
tained an  honest  purpose,  or  did  a  creditable 
deed.  They  have  been  called  "the  Bour- 
bons of  British  politics,"  and  like  their 
namesakes  across  the  channel  lived  only  to 
see  and  hate  what  they  could  not  prevent, 
wasting  their  impotent  rage  upon  the  irre- 
sistible movement  of  human  society  toward 
true  liberty. 


ENGLISH  REFORMATION       251 

When  James  I.,  the  son  of  poor  Mary 
Stuart,  came  to  England  the  Puritans  were 
jubilant.  He  had  been  bred  a  strict  Presby- 
terian and  stood  pledged  to  the  best  type  of 
Protestantism  by  many  an  oath.  But  the 
Puritans  had  reckoned  without  their  host. 
The  more  James  knew  of  Puritanism  the  less 
he  liked  it.  On  close  acquaintance  it 
smacked  to  him  of  republicanism;  for  was  it 
not  always  casting  eyes  toward  civil  liberty 
and  indulging  in  criticisms  that  did  not 
spare  even  royal  tenets.  So  James  gave  his 
right  hand  to  the  bishops,  and  honored 
Puritanism  by  deserting  it.  This  vainest  of 
men,  and  most  pedantic  of  kings  was  bound 
to  have  his  own  way  in  religious  as  well  as 
political  matters,  so  he  insisted  on  arguing 
in  the  imperative  mood,  believing  that  a 
command  was  better  than  a  syllogism,  and 
forbidding  any  indulgence  in  non-con- 
formity. "I  will  have  one  doctrine,"  he 
declared,  "and  one  discipline,  one  religion 
in  substance  and  ceremony."  He  went  still 
further  and  cried,  "I  will  make  the  Puritan 
party  conform  or  I  will  harry  them  out  of 
the  land."  In  a  speech  before  Parliament 
he  referred  to  "the  sect  called  Puritan"  as 
"insufferable  in  any  well-governed  common- 
wealth."    So  he  adopted  measures  of  sup- 


252  THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

pression.  Non-conforming  clergymen  were 
silenced,  imprisoned,  or  exiled;  ecclesias- 
tical censorship  of  the  press  was  exercised; 
the  importation  of  foreign  books  was  hin- 
dered, yet  by  all  these  repressive  measures 
he  succeeded  only  in  giving  a  more  vigorous 
life  to  the  party  he  held  in  contempt. 

When  the  lines  of  battle  were  drawn,  the 
monarch,  with  the  state  church  were  on  one 
side,  the  Puritan  clergy  and  the  people  on 
the  other,  with  Parliament  standing  between, 
yet  steadily  drifting  toward  the  side  of 
political  and  religious  liberty. 

The  first  Charles  succeeded  the  first  James, 
but  he  was  merely  a  second  Stuart,  with  no 
new  qualities  of  value  to  society.  He  was 
an  improvement  on  his  father  only  in  respect 
to  personal  living,  being  orderly  and  chaste. 
In  political  action  he  was  governed  by  the 
sole  idea  of  absolutism.  He  utterly  failed 
to  read  the  portents  of  his  time,  or  to  mark 
the  drift  of  public  opinion.  In  affairs  of 
government  he  stood  unflinchingly  against 
Parliament,  and,  in  religious  matters  cher- 
ished the  deepest  aversion  to  Puritanism. 
Inflated  with  arrogance  and  pride  he  main- 
tained a  hopeless  conflict  with  the  mighty 
force  of  popular  sentiment  represented  by 
Parliament,  and,  with  the  mightier  force  of 


ENGLISH  REFORMATION       253 

a  great  religious  reformation.  With  the 
tyrannical  and  despicable  Laud  in  control  of 
ecclesiastical  affairs  he  continued  to  the  bit- 
ter end  in  a  mad  crusade  against  the  liberties 
and  sentiments  of  a  people  daily  becoming 
more  intelligent  and  independent.  An  open 
rupture  was  inevitable,  and  the  reader  of 
English  history  is  scarcely  surprised  to 
come  upon  the  unique  chapter  which  records 
not  only  the  dethronement  but  the  execution 
of  an  English  king. 

This  catastrophe  could  never  have  been 
brought  about,  even  by  the  genius  of  Oliver 
Cromwell,  had  it  not  been  for  the  tremendous 
force  of  the  moral  uprising  of  the  people 
under  the  impulses  which  Puritanism  had 
fostered.  The  ideas  which  weregerminant  in 
the  days  of  Edward  III.  and  Wyclif,  which 
had  begun  to  have  life  in  the  short  reign  of 
Edward  VI.,  which  were  developed  and 
publicly  named  in  the  time  of  Elizabeth, 
which  endured  the  contemptuous  opposition 
of  two  Stuart  kings,  at  last  asserted  them- 
selves in  the  indignant  rejection  of  Charles 
I.,  and  in  the  elevation  to  a  Protectorship  of 
the  realm  of  a  sturdy  yeoman,  who  had 
passed  from  the  House  of  Commons  to  the 
head  of  a  victorious  army. 

The  rule  of    Cromwell,   however,   lacked 


254   THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

popularity  and  was  not  destined  to  enjoy  a 
long  life.  It  was  strong  and  successful  so 
far  as  the  maintenance  of  order  and  freedom 
from  oppression  were  concerned.  It  gained 
and  held  the  respect  of  the  nation,  and  for 
that  matter,  of  all  Europe;  yet,  the  Protector 
was  often  compelled  to  resort  to  the  arbi- 
trary and  unconstitutional  exercise  of  power, 
and,  in  spite  of  unquestioned  integrity  and 
splendid  statesmanship,  he  failed  to  main- 
tain himself  at  the  height  of  popular  favor. 
Between  the  Cavaliers  and  the  Roundheads 
was  a  mass  of  people  adhering  steadfastly 
to  neither  party,  sometimes  remaining 
neutral  and  sometimes  swaying  to  the  one 
side  or  to  the  other.  When  they  inclined 
toward  the  Puritans  they  made  the  victories 
of  Cromwell  possible;  when  they  supported 
the  Royalists  Charles  II.  was  recalled  from 
exile  and  introduced  into  Whitehall  with  all 
England  shouting  welcome  to  the  new  king. 
This  was  a  step  backward;  darkening  days 
came  again,  and  the  mutterings  of  another 
storm  were  heard  in  still  unreformed  Eng- 
land. Charles  was  a  fool,  a  weakling,  and  a 
bigot,  "an  infidel  when  well,  a  Romanist 
when  sick."  The  papists  bestirred  them- 
selves under  encouragement  from  the  king's 
vacillating  attitude;    the  high  church  party 


ENGLISH  REFORMATION     255 

pressed  to  the  front  and  the  Puritans  were 
crowded  out  of  pulpits  and  public  offices. 
The  hand  of  iron  and  blood  began  to  show 
itself  again.  Many  were  banished  from  the 
realm;  half  of  those  that  remained  were  out- 
lawed, and  under  the  reign  of  terror  that 
ensued  men  of  piety  and  free  conscience 
were  secure  in  possession  of  neither  home 
nor  life.  It  was  the  story  of  the  catacombs 
over  again,  and  Puritans  met  by  stealth  and 
under  pitiful  perils  in  "dark  alleys,  upper 
garrets,  and  in  midnight  forests. 

In  1685  Charles  died  and  his  brother, 
James  II.,  came  to  the  throne.  The  char- 
acteristics of  the  new  king  were  bigotry  and 
absolutism.  In  personal  character  he  was 
vicious;  in  temper,  always  despotic;  a  liar 
when  it  suited  him;  vindictive  and  cruel 
when  the  mask  was  thrown  off.  Such  a  ruler 
was  sure  to  march  fast  toward  dethronement 
in  so  late  a  century.  With  "a  despotism 
bolder  than  that  of  Elizabeth  and  meaner 
than  that  of  Charles,"  he  could  not  fail  to 
set  all  parties  against  him,  whether  in  high 
church  circles  or  in  Puritan  ranks. 

There  would  have  been  an  even  speedier 
revolution  had  not  England  had  in  prospect 
the  succession  of  Mary,  daughter  of  James, 
who  was  educated  a  Protestant  and  was  the 


256  THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

wife  of  William,  Prince  of  Orange.  The 
report  of  the  birth  of  a  son  to  the  queen, 
though  not  really  credited,  so  inflamed  all 
parties,  Whigs,  Tories,  Churchmen  and 
Puritans,  that  the  king  was  forced  to  abdi- 
cate in  favor  of  his  daughter  and  her  hus- 
band. All  parties  united  in  inviting  to  the 
English  throne  the  most  remarkable  man  of 
the  epoch,  thoughtful,  simple,  dignified,  "an 
able  captain,  a  wise  statesman,  a  tolerant 
Christian." 

Without  bloodshed  a  new  dynasty  was  set 
up;  the  glorious  revolution  of  1688  became 
an  accomplished  fact;  temporal  and  reli- 
gious liberty  were  secured,  and  the  mission 
of  the  Puritans,  as  a  party,  came  to  an  end. 

Even  so  rapid  a  review  of  the  religious 
history  of  England  awakens  its  own  sugges- 
tions regarding  the  philosophy  of  the  great 
events  which  marked  the  course  of  things. 
Yet,  it  may  be  well  to  put  into  definite  form 
the  ruling  ideas  which  determined  actions  so 
utterly  abhorrent  to  the  sentiments  of  our 
own  age 

In  the  first  place,  men.  Papists  and  Puri- 
tans alike,  labored  during  all  these  troubled 
centuries  under  the  mistaken  notion  that  it 
is  the  province  of  the  state  to  manage  the 
affairs  of  the  church.     This  was  the  source 


ENGLISH  REFORMATION       257 

of  endless  oppressions  and  complications, 
and  much  abuse  of  power  by  unprincipled 
rulers.  Such  wrongs  are  persistent,  for  new 
ideas  come  slowly.  There  is  an  heredity  of 
false  notions,  like  those  which  made  slavery 
so  long  a  possibility;  which  transmitted  the 
doctrine  of  the  "divine  right  of  kings"; 
which  still  countenances  the  selfish  use  of 
wealth;  and  which  gave  government  a  right 
to  dictate  in  the  realm  of  ethics  and  reli- 
gion, as  well  as  in  civil  affairs.  The  Roman 
church  had  always  meddled  with  statecraft, 
and,  when  the  English  reformation  took 
place  there  was  merely  a  transference  of 
sovereignty  in  such  matters  from  the  Pope 
to  the  King.  The  bishops  who  inaugurated 
that  revolution  had  been  brought  up  in  this 
doctrine,  and,  as  a  matter  of  course,  carried 
over  their  allegiance  to  the  new  authority. 
What  they  rejoiced  in  was  that  the  cathe- 
drals which  had  echoed  to  the  chanting  of 
the  mass,  now  resounded  to  the  worship  of 
the  Service  Book.  It  probably  never  oc- 
curred to  Elizabeth,  that,  in  questions  of  re- 
ligion anymore  than  in  questions  of  politics, 
the  people  had  any  right  to  think  and  act 
for  themselves.  The  English  church  was  a 
national  church.  It  had  been  formed  under 
a  civil  code,  by  the  sanction  of  the  king, 


2S8  THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

and,  up  to  the  days  of  William  and  Mary,  it 
was  expected  that  the  civil  government 
would  attend  to  the  administration  of  its 
affairs. 

Although  they  were  fundamentally  wrong 
in  their  conception  of  the  function  of  gov- 
ernment, the  error  was  not  easy  to  detect. 
Generation  after  generation,  the  theory  had 
prevailed  that  the  best  government  was  the 
most  obtrusive,  and,  in  this  particular,  the 
Puritans  were  not  greatly  in  advance  of  their 
time.  Like  the  Jews  of  old,  they  were  in 
religion  nationalists  to  the  core.  They  held 
that  a  Christian  nation  is  a  Christian  church; 
and  this  false  idea  was  translated  to  the  new 
England  across  the  seas,  and,  for  a  century 
and  more,  interfered  with  the  development 
of  both  civil  and  religious  order.  The 
Puritan  notion  was  not  liberty,  as  now 
understood,  but  only  reform.  They  were 
not  initiatory  or  revolutionary,  for  they 
never  denied  the  rights  of  government  in  the 
church;  they  were  only  urgent  to  have  the 
government  permit  them,  and  compel  all 
others,  to  walk  in  ways  of  simplicity  and 
purity. 

Another  prevailing  idea  and  favorite  bat- 
tle-cry was  "Conformity."  Difference  of 
belief  and  custom  was  the  bug-bear  which 


ENGLISH   REFORMATION     259 

frightened  kings,  bishops,  and  presbyters, 
into  spasms.  If  it  were  not  so  painfully- 
pathetic  it  would  be  laughable  in  the  ex- 
treme to  look  upon  men,  great  and  small,  in 
throes  of  terror  over  the  inevitable  differ- 
ences of  human  minds  about  incidental  mat- 
ters; when,  in  things  fundamental,  they 
were  all  agreed.  It  was  universally  held 
that  God  was  to  be  worshiped,  and  that  the 
Bible  was  the  book  of  divine  truth,  but  the 
rulers  were  not  content  so  long  as  in  the 
minutest  details  men  failed  of  conformity. 
The  idea  of  tolerating  variance  of  opinion, 
in  charity  and  confidence,  was  as  remote 
from  the  age  as  the  use  of  electricity  for 
light  and  power.  Men  who  for  the  right  to 
exercise  private  judgment  suffered  imprison- 
ment and  faced  death,  were  either  too  timid 
or  too  narrow  to  grant  the  same  right  in  turn 
to  men  who  differed  from  them.  Most 
strange  to  relate,  the  very  men  who  proved 
themselves  heroes  for  the  maintenance  of 
their  own  faith,  counted  tolerance  of  differ- 
ing opinions  in  others  a  culpable  weakness. 
They  were  under  an  evil  spell.  Each  man 
was  bound  to  discover  the  right,  and  then  he 
was  equally  bound  to  force  his  convictions 
on  every  other  man. 

A  third  notion  as  baleful,  and  more  sense- 


26o   THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

less,  was  the  idea  that  physical  force  could 
be  successfully  used  to  change  or  modify 
intellectual  convictions.  Stubborn  adher- 
ence to  this  error  opened  a  fountain  of 
blood  which  flowed  continuously  for  four  or 
five  centuries.  The  inconsistency  of  such 
reasoning  seems  to  have  scarcely  crossed 
men's  minds.  Tyrants  persecuted  according 
to  the  measure  of  their  cruelty,  and  martyrs 
suffered  according  to  the  degree  of  their 
heroism.  At  times  the  land  was  full  of 
darkened  homes,  the  air  rent  with  cries  of 
horror,  the  fields  wet  with  the  blood  of 
saints,  but  there  was  no  effective  protest 
against  the  unreason  of  such  acts  of  bar- 
barity. The  only  question  was  as  to 
whether  the  attempts  were  misplaced, 
whether  force  was  being  used  on  the  right 
side. 

Under  Henry  VIII.  lives  were  counted 
cheap  enough,  but  even  under  the  better 
reign  of  his  son,  Edward,  conformity  was 
enforced  by  pains  and  penalties.  Many  op- 
pressive statutes  were  repealed,  but  the 
Roman  clergy  who  refused  to  accept  Protes- 
tantism were  pitilessly  thrown  into  prison. 
In  Mary's  reign  Protestants  multiplied 
under  the  cruelties  which  she  sanctioned; 
but  the  logic  of  it  was  not  seen,  and  the  last 


ENGLISH  REFORMATION      261 

days  of  her  terrible  reign  were  the  darkest 
of  all.  The  liturgy  adopted  in  the  reign  of 
Elizabeth  was  intelligible  and  admirable,  but 
it  occurred  to  no  one  that  what  had  been 
hailed  with  delight  by  many  ought  to  be 
allowed  to  win  its  own  way  by  its  moral 
worth  and  spiritual  beauty.  It  must  be 
forced  at  once  upon  all  by  such  penalties  as 
the  exigency  of  the  case  might  demand. 

The  same  appeal  to  force  was  made  in 
small  matters  as  in  large.  Nothing  was  too 
unessential  to  constitute  a  heresy,  and  to 
call  for  the  use  of  force.  About  the  middle 
of  the  sixteenth  century  an  unhappy  woman 
was  left  in  prison  a  whole  year  for  the 
offence  of  holding  a  peculiar  notion  con- 
cerning the  mode  of  incarnation;  which,  as 
a  fact,  she  seems  not  to  have  denied.  At 
the  end  of  that  time  neither  Cranmer  nor 
Ridley  having  been  able  to  win  her  mind  to 
their  view,  she  went  to  the  stake  without 
protest  from  them,  they  being  willing  in 
their  turn  to  pass  through  the  same  fiery 
torture  for  opinions  which  they  had  thought 
fit  to  adopt.  It  mattered  not  what  personal 
worth  lay  behind  the  heresy;  the  sweetest 
disposition,  the  most  upright  living  went  for 
nothing;  nobody  could  be  trusted  whose 
opinions  were  wrong, — that  is  to  say,  wrong 


262  THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

in  the  eyes  of  those  who  had  the  power 
to  employ  force.  Bishop  Hooper,  who 
suffered  a  distressful  death  in  1555,  is  de- 
scribed as  the  most  apostolic  of  men,  a  man 
who  in  an  age  of  almost  universal  covetous- 
ness  not  only  lived  simply  but  gave  away 
most  of  his  income.  Rowland  Taylor,  whom 
the  fiery  chariot  of  marytyrdom  bore  aloft 
in  the  same  year,  was  proclaimed,  "a  right 
perfect  divine,  of  warm  heart,  simple  man- 
ners, touching  humility  and  holy  zeal.'* 
But  the  shame  of  using  cruel  force  against 
men  of  such  character  and  kindly  service 
seems  not  to  have  occurred  to  any  one.  It 
was  a  hard  age.  Ideas  of  gentleness, 
patience,  and  fair  dealing  had  absolutely 
no  place  in  men's  minds.  The  premises 
had  been  accepted  once  for  all  that  heresy 
must  be  crushed  at  any  cost,  and  that  force 
was  the  natural  means  to  be  employed. 

When  we  make  up  our  verdict  on  the 
merits  and  the  faults  of  the  Puritans  it  be- 
hooves us  to  exercise  the  charity  and  fair- 
ness which  were  foreign  to  their  age,  but  are 
the  priceless  property  of  our  own.  We 
mention  with  hesitation  and  almost  apolo- 
getic tone  the  faults  which  to  our  finer 
senses  of  things  are  so  glaring.  They 
lacked    gentleness    and    compassion;    they 


ENGLISH  REFORMATION       263 

were  wanting  in  joyousness  and  their  lives 
were  pitifully  barren  of  amenities;  they 
failed  to  discriminate  between  things  hope- 
lessfy  bad  and  things  redeemable  by  a  pure 
heart;  they  ignored  the  natural  demand  of 
the  mind  for  beauty;  and  they  trampled 
upon  the  instinct  for  recreation  and 
pleasure.  In  a  word,  they  had  no  adapt- 
ability. They  knew  not  how  to  yield  to  a 
whim  or  to  modify  a  custom.  They  were 
hard  and  unbending,  and  so  developed  no 
traits  of  loveliness.  They  were  too  severe 
toward  themselves  and  too  rigid  in  their 
judgment  of  others.  For  all  these  faults 
they  stand  condemned.  Their  sentence 
has  gone  out  through  all  the  earth.  Their 
sins  were  such  as  men  are  slow  to  forgive 
and  slower  still  to  forget. 

On  the  other  hand,  taking  into  account 
the  conditions  of  their  age, — their  merits 
are  as  easily  noted  as  their  faults  and  more 
gratefully  held  up  to  view.  First  of  all, 
and  let  it  be  written  in  letters  of  gold,  we 
record  their  sturdy  moral  sense.  They  had 
a  sensitive  conscience,  and  to  what  they 
deemed  to  be  right  they  were  devoted  for 
life  and  in  death.  Nor  did  they  act  under 
the  fostering  influence  of  public  opinion  and 
chaste  customs,  but  often   in  the  face  of  a 


264  THE  CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

sneering  and  frowning  world  that  laughed  at 
their  scruples  and  hated  them  for  the  re- 
buke of  its  vileness.  It  is  difficult,  if  not 
actually  impossible,  for  men  of  this  age, 
when  virtue  is  exalted,  when  chastness  and 
honesty  are  demanded  by  pulpit  and  press, 
when  good  men  and  pure  women  uphold 
the  loftiest  moral  standards,  to  conceive  of 
the  universal  and  awful  corruptions  against 
which  the  Puritans  protested.  In  the  reign 
of  Edward  VI.,  when  Puritanism  was  born, 
the  morals  and  manners  of  the  people  were 
almost  universally  bad.  The  higher  classes 
were  insatiably  covetous,  grasping  at  public 
lands  and  hoarding  gold,  while  in  the  lower 
ranks,  crime  of  all  sorts  stalked  abroad 
brazen  and  unpunished.  The  court  of  Eliza- 
beth was  full  of  epicures  and  atheists. 
Half  the  churches,  even  in  London,  were 
without  preaching;  social  conference  meet- 
ings were  suppressed;  alehouses  abounded; 
gaming  and  frivolity  were  the  order  of  the 
day.  Sundays  were  devoted  to  plays  and 
rude  sports,  and,  when  Parliament  passed  a 
bill  for  a  more  reverent  use  of  the  Sabbath, 
Elizabeth  refused  to  sign  it,  not  tolerating 
any  interference  with  religious  matters. 
James  was  willing  to  enlist  the  natural 
levity    of    the   human   heart   in   his    battle 


ENGLISH  REFORMATION      265 

against  Puritanism,  and  issued  a  proclama- 
tion encouraging  on  Sunday  such  "lawful 
sports"  as  dancing,  archery,  vaulting  or 
May  games.  Macaulay  says  of  the  times  of 
Charles:  "Then  came  the  days  never  to  be 
recalled  without  a  blush,  days  of  servitude, 
sensuality  and  gigantic  vices."  The  Puri- 
tans are  justly  accused  of  severity  in  morals, 
but  the  brighter  world  of  to-day  ought  not  to 
stint  its  admiration  for  men  who  could,  in 
the  face  of  customs  honored  by  king  and 
court,  and  against  tendencies  which  char- 
acterized society,  stand  unflinchingly  for 
honesty  and  cleanness,  for  true  and  sturdy 
manhood,  sweet  and  pure  womanhood. 

Quite  in  keeping  with  their  moral  sense 
was  their  soulful  energy.  While  others  were 
dawdling  away  their  days,  while  leaders  in 
church  and  state  were  intoxicated  with  am- 
bition and  pleasure,  they  found  something  to 
live  for.  Their's  was  "the  strenuous  mood." 
There  were  mighty  reforms  to  be  pushed 
through,  there  were  vital  problems  to  be  set- 
tled, there  were  evils  to  be  overcome,  there 
were  advantages  to  be  won  for  the  good 
of  society,  and  with  uncompromising  zeal 
and  unfaltering  courage  they  gave  them- 
selves to  their  accomplishment.  They  met 
with  constant  opposition,  and  encountered 


266   THE   CHRISTIAN    CENTURIES 

difificulties  without  number.  It  was  no  holi- 
day affair  to  live  Christianly  on  any  day 
from  Edward  VI.  to  James  II.  But  the 
energy  of  the  Puritans  was  unflagging. 
Eager,  bold,  aggressive,  they  were  reform- 
ers not  by  the  king's  behest,  not  in  formal 
compliance  with  changed  fashions,  but  be- 
cause their  own  hearts  and  minds  were 
enlisted  in  the  work.  They  would  not  cease 
to  be  intense  and  energetic  in  their  striving 
until  church  and  society  had  been  carefully 
reformed,  until  simplicity  and  purity  had 
become  the  universal  rule  of  life. 

Puritanism,  as  an  organized  party,  and 
a  recognized  force  among  men,  has,  for  two 
centuries  been  only  a  matter  of  history.  It 
is  inconceivable  that  conditions  of  human 
society  should  ever  again  give  birth  and  de- 
velopment to  such  a  movement.  We  have 
passed  beyond  such  measures  as  were  then 
adopted  for  the  reform  of  church  and  state. 
But  some  things  that  pertain  to  the  essence 
of  Puritanism  are  of  perpetual  value  to 
human  society,  and  of  eternal  fitness  to  hu- 
man character.  Men  ought  forever  to  be  ear- 
nest and  devoted  in  their  adherence  to  the 
right;  clear-headed  and  persistent  in  han- 
dling problems  of  government  and  religion. 
They  ought  to  go  yet  further,  further  perhaps 


ENGLISH  REFORMATION       267 

than  was  possible  to  men  of  the  earlier  cen- 
turies, and  to  clear  thinking  and  earnest 
action  they  should  add  not  only  love  of  lib- 
erty, deep  charity  and  broad  toleration,  but 
also  an  appreciation  of  beauty  and  the  in- 
nocent joy  of  living.  Thus  they  will  build 
worthily  on  foundations  which  heroes  have 
laid;  thus  they  will  reap  rich  harvests  for 
which  martyrs  sowed  the  seed. 


CHAPTER    VIII 

THE  MODERN  ERA 

The  proper  measurement  of  the  present  is 
by  the  past.  More  often  we  bring  it  into 
comparison  with  the  future.  That  is  to  say, 
we  test  the  present  by  our  ideal  of  the  state, 
of  the  church,  and  of  personal  character.  This 
method  has  the  advantage  of  making  us  dis- 
contented with  the  progress  already  made  and 
eager  for  improvement.  And  this  is  well, 
for  absolute  contentment  would  mean  arrest 
of  progress;  it  would  mean  stagnation.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  cure  for  discouragement 
and  pessimism  lies  in  contrasting  the  present 
with  earlier  stages  of  development.  When 
we  come  to  the  study  of  prevailing  condi- 
tions by  a  long  and  hard  path  leading  through 
crude  and  dark  ages,  we  recognize  with  grati- 
tude and  courage  the  immeasurable  advan- 
tages of  the  days  in  which  we  live. 

The  period  under  consideration  covers  two 
centuries  and  a  half,  and  is  packed  with 
interesting  and  significant  incidents.  Events 
crowd  upon  one  another;  and  the'r  record 
is  indefinitely  more  comprehensive  and 
268 


THE  MODERN  ERA  269 

exact  than  in  earlier  times.  The  only  feasi- 
ble method  of  painting  the  characteristics 
of  this  section  of  human  history  is  to  ignore 
details  and  present  an  outline  with  the  sa- 
lient points  as  clearly  indicated  as  possible. 

By  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century 
political  and  religious  lines  were  quite  defi- 
nitely settled.  The  Reformation  was  estab- 
lished on  the  continent  and  in  England 
beyond  the  possibility  of  overthrow,  and  the 
process  of  nation  building  had  gone  far 
enough  to  indicate  the  boundaries  which 
seem  likely  to  endure  the  test  of  time. 

Perhaps  the  most  significant  event  in  the 
modern  era  was  the  peopling  of  the  New 
World  and  the  maturing  of  the  spirit  of  na- 
tionality in  that  northern  continent.  The 
discovery  of  America  was  made  at  the  close 
of  the  fifteenth  century,  but  wide  and  stormy 
seas  shut  it  out  from  occupation  for  a  hun- 
dred and  fifty  years.  At  the  close  of  that 
period  by  virtue  of  oppression  at  home,  the 
awakening  of  new  energies  and  new  dreams 
of  conquest,  the  enterprise  of  settlement  in 
the  new  lands  began  to  be  pushed  with  vigor, 
and  to  results  of  great  moment  to  all  the 
peoples  of  earth. 

The  Spaniards  took  possession  of  the 
southern  coasts;  the  French  of  the  northern. 


270  THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

Both  were  strongly  Catholic  and  monar- 
chical. The  middle  section  with  a  climate 
favorable  for  an  enterprising  people,  with 
varied  resources  in  soil  and  minerals,  with 
excellent  harbors  and  navigable  rivers,  with 
possibilities  of  wide  empire  and  unlimited 
development  of  wealth,  was  colonized  by 
the  Protestant  nations  of  northern  Europe 
and  above  all  by  Anglo-Saxons.  In  New 
England,  were  laid  the  foundations  of  a 
vigorous  and  expansive  civilization  in  the 
establishment  on  the  Massachusetts  coast  of 
the  Puritans  and  Pilgrims.  On  the  territory 
of  Old  England  these  two  parties  had  dif- 
fered not  a  little  in  characteristics  and  prac- 
tical purposes.  There  the  Puritans  held  to 
the  old  church  and  a  state  religion.  The 
Pilgrims  were  more  radical  and  as  "Sepa- 
ratists" would  have  reform  "without  tarry- 
ing," crossing  first  the  channel  and  then  the 
ocean  in  search  of  a  land  of  freedom.  But 
once  together  on  the  soil  of  a  new  continent, 
breathing  air  untainted  by  oppressive  tradi- 
tions, they  speedily  came  to  one  mind  in 
important  matters.  The  Puritan  emigrants 
did  not  forget  their  "dear  mother  church." 
They  brought  with  them  ministers  fully 
ordained;  some  of  them  like  Higginson, 
Cotton  and  Hooker,  being  men  of  distinc- 


THE  MODERN  ERA  271 

tion,  but  on  the  shores  of  the  new  world  they 
organized  an  ecclesiastical  system  in  close 
resemblance  to  that  which  the  parishioners 
and  followers  of  the  open-minded  Robinson 
had  already  instituted  in  the  Plymouth 
colony.  It  was  an  age  of  change,  and  move- 
ments toward  a  new  order  of  things  were 
rapidly  and  harmoniously  executed.  Some 
serious  mistakes  were  made;  as  for  instance, 
the  limiting  of  political  suffrage  to  church 
members.  They  were  often  hampered  by 
the  crudeness  of  society,  but  they  were  un- 
doubtedly moved  by  high  religious  consider- 
ations, and  always  acted  nobly  if  not  wisely. 
They  were  legislating  for  "a  commonwealth 
yet  to  be  settled,"  not  for  one  already  ma- 
tured, and,  under  the  pressure  not  only  of 
local  exigencies,  but  of  ideas  at  that  time 
of  universal  prevalence,  they  bound  the 
state  to  the  church,  and  mingled  functions 
that  are  better  exercised  in  independence  of 
each  other.  Yet,  in  spite  of  narrowness  and 
blunders  the  development  of  the  new  civili- 
zation was  in  the  direction  of  strength  and 
freedom. 

By  1640  no  fewer  than  20,000  Englishmen 
had  come  to  the  various  colonies  of  New 
England;  including  eighty  ordained  minis- 
ters, of  whom  more  than  half  were  graduates 


272   THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

of  Cambridge  and  Oxford.  This  accounts 
in  part  for  the  fact  that  education  received 
almost  as  great  attention  as  religion. 
Already  the  foundation  of  Harvard  Col- 
lege had  been  laid,  with  grammar  and  com- 
mon schools  begun  in  both  Massachusetts 
and  Connecticut.  These  would  seem  crude 
enough  in  comparison  with  the  perfected 
institutions  which  distinguish  the  twentieth 
century,  but  they  were  of  immense  value  to 
the  infant  colonies,  and  of  even  greater 
significance  with  reference  to  the  develop- 
ment of  later  periods.  They  indicated  cer- 
tain ambitions  and  tendencies  which  then, 
as  now,  were  only  limited  by  the  bound- 
aries of  a  growing  nation. 

Without  upheavals  or  revolutions  the 
changes  in  the  religious  life  of  Continental 
Europe  during  the  modern  period  followed 
chiefly  lines  already  established. 

The  reforms  in  Austria  during  the  last 
quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century  constitute 
one  of  the  fascinating  "might  have  beens" 
of  history.  Joseph  II.,  1781,  issued  an 
Edict  of  Toleration,  and  followed  it  up  by 
important  legislative  acts  looking  toward 
the  complete  independence  of  the  govern- 
ment in  external  matters,  and  the  reducing 
of  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Pope  to  the  low- 


THE  MODERN  ERA  273 

est  limits.  In  the  controversy  with  Pope 
Pius  VI.  which  followed,  the  Emperor  was 
on  the  point  of  imitating  the  example  of 
Henry  VIII.,  of  England,  and  breaking 
once  for  all  with  Rome,  but  was  dissuaded 
by  counselors  whom  he  regarded  as  sincere 
and  sagacious.  If  a  deeper  spirit  of  reli- 
gious fervor  had  been  abroad,  as  in  the  days 
of  Luther,  a  revolution  of  incalculable  sig- 
nificance might  have  been  accomplished; 
but  the  temper  of  the  nation  was  too  light 
and  skeptical  for  such  a  profound  modifica- 
tion of  relationships  as  the  astute  Emperor 
had  in  mind. 

In  the  religious  history  of  Germany  dur- 
ing the  eighteenth  century  an  exalted  place, 
if  not  the  very  highest,  must  be  accorded  to 
the  Moravians.  They  were  the  inheritors 
of  the  ideas  and  purposes  of  the  Hussites  of 
the  fifteenth  century.  They  cherished  the 
spirit  of  Christianity  in  simplicity  and 
fidelity.  The  leader  in  this  movement,  a 
movement  which  indeed  has  not  yet  lost  its 
moral  and  spiritual  force,  was  Count  Zinzen- 
dorf,  who  belonged  to  an  old  and  wealthy 
family  of  Saxony.  In  the  course  of  his 
education  he  had  come  under  deep  religious 
influences  which  determined  his  character 
and  bent  of  purpose.     Though  forced  for  a 


274  THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

while  to  the  study  of  law  he  found  his  way 
into  the  ministry,  finally  becoming  an  or- 
dained bishop.  He  had  no  ambition  to 
establish  a  new  sect  but  only  to  intensify 
spiritual  life  within  the  national  church. 
He  sought  to  infuse  into  it  new  warmth 
and  a  deeper  religious  sentiment.  His 
missionary  zeal  matched  his  love  for  sim- 
plicity and  purity;  and,  partly  by  his  own 
labors  in  Holland,  England  and  America, 
and  partly  by  the  organization  of  which  he 
was  the  moving  spirit  Gospel  messengers 
were  sent  into  all  quarters  of  the  globe. 

Sweden  made  a  distinct  contribution  to 
religious  history  in  the  gift  to  the  world  of 
Swedenborg,  the  son  of  a  Lutheran  bishop, 
who  studied  at  the  University  of  Upsala 
and  became  widely  influential  as  a  unique 
thinker  and  writer.  Although  not  formally 
accepted  as  a  leader  in  religious  thought  by 
a  majority  in  any  community,  he  impreg- 
nated with  his  ideas  a  large  body  of  follow- 
ers; and  in  no  small  degree  modified  the 
thought  of  the  whole  Christian  world. 
Emanuel  Swedenborg  had  his  first  vision  of 
Christ  when  he  was  past  fifty  years  of  age. 
He  had  enjoyed  rare  advantages  in  the 
cultivation  of  his  splendid  powers,  and  was 
already  a  scientist  of  wide  research,  and  of 


THE  MODERN  ERA  275 

literary  productiveness.  The  contemplative 
habits  of  his  youth  brought  forth  large 
fruitage  in  the  last  thirty  years  of  his  long 
life.  He  must  be  credited  with  sincerity  in 
believing  himself  the  chosen  recipient  of 
revelations;  and,  whatever  may  have  been 
his  hallucination,  he  seems  to  have  im- 
pressed men  with  the  genuineness  of  his 
communications  with  angels,  and  even  with 
the  Lord  himself.  The  genius  of  his  re- 
ligious system  is  found  in  his  doctrine  of 
analogies.  The  outer  world  corresponds  to 
the  inner  being  of  man,  as,  indeed,  the 
whole  visible  universe  does  with  the  invisible 
realm.  Following  this  principle  of  inter- 
pretation it  was  natural  for  Swedenborg  to 
find  in  the  Bible  three  distinct  meanings. 
One  lies  in  the  literal  report  of  facts,  the 
second  is  beneath  the  surface  in  occult 
allusions  to  spiritual  realities  of  the  king- 
dom, the  third  is  heavenly  and  pertains  to 
the  Lord  himself.  There  is  no  denial  of 
Christianity,  and  no  rejection  of  any  of  its 
moral  precepts,  although  there  is  a  some- 
what significant  modification  of  some  of  the 
doctrines;  as,  for  instance,  of  the  atone- 
ment and  the  resurrection.  The  Sweden- 
borgian  church  came  into  existence  in  1771 
and,    acting   upon   the    promise   of    a   new 


276    THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

heaven  and  new  earth,  assumed  the  name 
which  it  still  bears,  the  "New  Jerusalem 
Church." 

In  France,  the  most  significant  phase  of 
the  religious  situation  was  persistent  perse- 
cution of  the  Huguenots,  and  their  final 
expulsion, — to  the  irretrievable  loss  of  the 
country.  After  the  death  of  Mazarin,  Louis 
XIV.,  moved  by  a  tormenting  conscience 
and  instigated  by  Catholic  advisers,  perse- 
cuted the  Huguenots  with  unbearable  cruel- 
ties and  oppression,  so  that  within  three 
years  not  fewer  than  50,000  families  fled  the 
country.  In  1685  the  Edict  of  Nantes, 
which  had  stood  as  the  charter  of  liberty 
for  Protestants,  was  revoked  and  more  than  a 
quarter  of  a  million  escaped  from  France  in 
spite  of  all  hindrances  placed  in  their  way, 
impoverishing  their  own  country  and  enrich- 
ing England,  Holland  and  America,  so  that 
Voltaire  could  say,  "the  French  are  as 
widely  dispersed  as  the  Jews." 

An  event  of  great  significance  in  the 
eighteenth  century  was  the  temporary  and 
apparent  overthrow  of  Jesuitism.  Its  begin- 
nings had  been,  in  spite  of  serious  and  almost 
fatal  misconception  of  the  genius  of  Chris- 
tianity, sincere  and  earnest.  But  with  the 
passing   of    the  centuries,    it    had    become 


THE  MODERN  ERA  277 

widely  diverted  from  those  original  aims 
which  had  almost  justified  its  right  to  exist. 
It  had  become  ambitious  for  numbers  of  con- 
verts on  the  mission  fields,  which  led  to  a 
fatal  lowering  of  the  standard  of  moral  re- 
quirements; ambitious  for  power,  which  led 
to  interference  in  the  politics  of  nearly  every 
government  of  Europe  to  the  serious  disturb- 
ance of  people  and  rulers;  ambitious  for 
wealth,  which  led  it  to  give  time  and  energy 
if  not  unholy  shrewdness  to  the  development 
of  commerce  in  its  own  interests.  By  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  society 
had  succeeded  in  arousing  against  itself  the 
deep-seated  enmity  of  widely  separated 
classes,  so  that  it  had  no  support  in  any 
against  the  antipathy  of  the  others.  The 
people  distrusted  it,  kings  feared  and  hated 
it,  and  the  Popes,  after  long  contentions 
against  its  methods,  reluctantly  concluded 
that  it  was  hopelessly  bad.  The  result  of 
this  widespread  distrust  and  opposition  was 
repeated  edicts  which  suppressed  it  tem- 
porarily not  only  in  the  Catholic  lands  of 
Europe  and  America,  but  even  on  its  mission 
fields. 

Religious  development  was  much  more 
marked  in  England  than  on  the  continent. 
Certain  phases  of  moral  life  and  of  philo- 


278   THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

sophical  and  theological  thinking  were  ap- 
parently no  more  hopeful  there  than 
elsewhere;  there  was,  however,  a  deeper 
undercurrent  of  religious  feeling,  a  far  more 
powerful  revival  of  faith,  a  more  pronounced 
aggressiveness,  and  a  profounder  revolt  alike 
from  skepticism  and  formalism  in  England 
than  in  any  other  country.  It  is  to  be  re- 
membered that  the  eighteenth  century  was 
one  of  free  thought.  Men  rejoiced  to  be 
liberated  from  tyranny  and  superstition  and 
hailed  their  day  as  one  of  brilliant  promise. 
The  new-found  liberty  led  in  the  end  to  in- 
telligence and  fervor,  but  there  was,  for  a 
time,  sad  lack  of  religious  sincerity  and  zeal. 
Partly  in  consequence  of  theological  differ- 
ences and  disputes  men  turned  against 
creeds  and  ecclesiastical  requirements.  The 
intellectual  activity  of  the  period  was 
notable,  but  its  brilliancy  cannot  blind  us  to 
its  sophistry  and  shallowness.  France  was 
the  source  of  much  of  the  thought  and  senti- 
ment which  prevailed  throughout  Europe. 
It  was  the  period  in  which  Voltaire,  by  the 
peculiar  fascination  of  his  literary  style, 
greatly  influenced  men.  Abundant  excuses 
may  be  found  for  his  temper  toward  a  reli- 
gion which  was  grotesquely  presented  to 
him  in  the  ecclesiastic  system  of   his  day; 


THE  MODERN  ERA  279 

nevertheless,  the  deleterious  effects  of  his 
own  misjudgments  must  be  acknowledged 
and  deplored.  A  biographer  has  said  of 
him  that  "he  missed  the  peculiar  emotions 
of  holiness,"  that  "he  had  no  ear  for  the 
finer  vibrations  of  the  spiritual  voice." 
Such  a  man  could  not  fail  to  misinterpret 
Scripture,  indeed,  it  is  not  unaccountable 
that  he  should  have  been  moved  by  "vehe- 
ment and  blinding  antipathy"  to  the  Chris- 
tian faith.  Voltaire  was  followed  by  the 
"Encyclopedists,"  under  the  leadership  of 
Diderot  and  D'Alembert,  men  of  versatile 
talents  and  extensive  learning,  who  labored 
with  prodigious  industry  to  disseminate  the 
most  advanced  and  revolutionary  opinions 
of  the  time. 

Running  parallel  with  this  destructive 
work  of  brilliant  writers  in  France  was  that 
of  the  Deistic  controversialists,  who,  for 
more  than  a  century,  influenced  English 
thinking.  The  avowed  purpose  of  men  of 
this  school  of  thought  was  to  sweep  away 
superstition;  their  actual  influence  far  out- 
stripped this  laudable  aim.  They  made 
bold  to  acknowledge  the  Being  of  God,  but 
they  robbed  him  of  personality  and  ap- 
proachableness.  They  vehemently  denied 
the  possibility  of  revelation  and  miracles, 


28o   THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

not  seldom  resorting  to  insinuation  and 
sarcasm  in  treating  the  evidences  upon 
which  Christian  believers  built  their  faith. 
Against  the  earlier  theories  strongly  pre- 
sented by  Lord  Herbert  and  Thomas 
Hobbes,  the  famous  philosopher  John 
Locke  vainly  developed  his  logical  system. 
While  maintaining  the  right  of  free  inquiry 
and  the  duty  of  toleration  he  urged  the 
"Reasonableness  of  Christianity"  in  a 
treatise  which  still  commands  profound  re- 
spect. His  powerful  appeal  failed  to  check 
the  course  of  skeptical  thinking.  The  cen- 
tury which  followed,  the  eighteenth,  was 
characterized  by  the  nationalistic  and  de- 
structive writings  of  such  men  as  Lord 
Bolingbroke  and  David  Hume,  of  acknowl- 
edged ability  and  of  proclaimed  hostility  to 
religious  belief,  and  the  historian  Gibbon, 
whose  method  was  "to  sap  a  creed  with 
solemn  sneer  " 

In  spite  of  the  "mocking  disbelief  coupled 
with  profligacy,"  which  made  the  higher 
circles  of  society  in  England,  in  that  cen- 
tury, indifferent  to  the  nobler  aspirations 
and  enterprises  of  men,  the  period  is  not  to 
be  viewed  as  altogether  unproductive  of 
thoughts  and  influences  which  tended  toward 
the  advancement  of  civilization.     The  an- 


THE  MODERN  ERA  281 

nals  of  the  time  record  the  discoveries  of  Sir 
Isaac  Newton,  the  literary  work  of  Addison 
and  Johnson,  the  magnificent  oratory  of 
Burke  and  Pitt.  It  is  on  the  ethical  and 
religious  side  that  the  age  was  deplorable. 
During  the  greater  part  of  the  century,  in 
both  higher  and  lower  ranks  of  society, 
there  was  a  lamentable  deficiency  in  purity, 
earnestness  and  faith.  It  is  this  condition 
of  morals  which  makes  so  significant  the 
inauguration  of  a  social  and  religious  move- 
ment, the  influence  of  which  is  still  unspent. 
It  would  be  difficult  to  overestimate  the 
immediate  and  permanent  influence  for  good 
to  the  whole  world,  morally  and  religiously, 
of  the  great  revival  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury in  England,  out  of  which  came  the  un- 
premeditated organization  of  a  new  sect;  for 
in  Methodism  there  was  an  uprising  and  on- 
moving  tide  of  religious  life  which  brought 
recovery  and  renovation  not  only  to  Eng- 
land but  ultimately,  and,  in  a  certain  degree, 
to  many  other  lands.  The  Methodist  Re- 
vival came  about  in  part  by  way  of  reaction 
against  the  skepticism  and  immorality  which 
distinguished  this  century.  Among  the 
higher  classes  infidelity  had  been  passion- 
ately espoused.  Dean  Swift,  who  had 
climbed   to   high    position    in   the    church, 


282  THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

through  political  influence,  wrote:  "Hardly 
one  in  a  hundred  among  our  people  of 
quality  or  gentry  appears  to  act  by  any  prin- 
ciple of  religion,  nor  is  the  case  much  better 
with  the  vulgar.**  About  the  middle  of  the 
century  Bishop  Butler  declared  that  it  had 
come  to  be  taken  for  granted  that  Chris- 
tianity was  not  even  a  matter  of  inquiry,  but 
was  looked  upon  as  fictitious.  Many  polit- 
ical leaders,  like  Walpole,  were  guilty  of 
unblushing  immoralities;  while  among  the 
lower  classes  lawlessness  was  prevalent. 

Over  against  this  religious  skepticism  and 
wickedness  was  set  a  style  of  preaching  for 
the  most  part  conventional.  Stilted  ele- 
gance had  taken  the  place  of  unadorned 
simplicity.  It  was  the  rarest  thing  to  find  a 
preacher  who  dealt  with  the  crying  needs  of 
the  age,  and  the  real  sources  of  remedy. 
The  Bible  was  uniformly  treated  in  an 
apologetic  tone;  and,  as  Johnson  put  it: 
"the  apostles  were  tried  regularly  once  a 
week  on  the  charge  of  having  committed 
forgery.*'  There  were  no  convictions  of 
religious  truth  and  no  enkindling  appeals. 
What  was  needed  was  a  new  breath  of  life, 
and,  fortunately,  this  was  about  to  be  sup- 
plied. 

The  awakening  came  chiefly  through  John 


THE  MODERN  ERA  283 

Wesley  and  his  immediate  helpers.  The 
story  need  not  be  given  in  detail  for  it  has 
been  long  familiar  to  the  world,  but  it  is  in- 
teresting to  note  how  persistent  is  religious 
life,  and  how  the  fire  of  truth  is  communi- 
cated by  touch  of  one  soul  upon  another. 
According  to  the  confession  of  Wesley,  the 
truth  by  which  his  own  spiritual  life  was 
quickened,  was  found  in  the  writings  of 
William  Law,  the  English  mystic,  to  whom, 
therefore,  belongs  the  honor  of  leading  the 
way  to  this  spiritual  awakening.  Whereso- 
ever Law,  himself,  caught  the  spark  of 
heavenly  fire  he  communicated  it  to  not  a 
few,  whom  he  induced  to  do  their  first 
earnest  thinking  on  religion.  He  believed 
in  personal  fellowship  with  God,  and  in  the 
attainment  of  oneness  with  God  in  moral 
character,  and  set  the  example  of  his  teach- 
ing in  holy  living. 

Out  of  his  writings  came  the  earliest  in- 
spiration to  John  Wesley,  but  later  formative 
influences  came  from  the  Moravians,  some 
of  whom  he  met  during  a  voyage  to  America 
and  others  two  years  later  on  his  return  to 
London.  Martin  Luther  also  contributed  to 
the  making  of  Wesley,  for  it  was  while  Wes- 
ley was  listening  to  the  readings  of  the 
preface    to   Luther's    Commentary   on    the 


284   THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

Epistle  to  the  Romans  that  words  about  a 
free  salvation  awakened  within  him  a  feel- 
ing of  joyful  assurance  of  sins  forgiven. 
Immediately  upon  this  experience  he  began 
to  preach  in  the  city  of  London,  and  in  the 
regions  around,  with  unwonted  fire  and 
unexampled  effectiveness.  His  brother 
Charles  was  equally  advanced  in  the  new 
life.  Within  the  year  George  Whitfield, 
who,  at  college,  had  been  associated  with  the 
brothers,  began  to  preach  in  the  open  fields, 
with  such  pathos  and  tenderness  that  "tears 
might  be  seen  forming  white  gutters"  down 
cheeks  blackened  by  the  dust  of  the  mines 
There  was  no  thought  of  forming  a  new 
religious  sect.  As  is  well  known,  John 
Wesley  was  born  and  was  ordained  and  even 
died  in  fellowship  with  the  church  of  Eng- 
land, sadly  deploring  tendencies  already 
bringing  about  a  separation  from  the  na- 
tional church.  Every  schism  in  the  Chris- 
tian church  is  to  be  regretted  and  this  one 
none  the  less  because  it  was  inevitable.  It  is 
always  unwise  to  put  new  wine  into  old 
wine  skins,  for  the  old  wine  skins  are  sure 
to  be  ruptured  by  the  fermentation  of  new 
life.  The  established  church  was  too  inert 
to  respond  to  such  zeai,  and  too  self-con- 
tented  to   rise   to   the   height   of    spiritual 


THE  MODERN  ERA  285 

privilege  opening  to  it.  But  the  enthusiasm 
for  aggressive  work  among  all  classes  re- 
fused to  subside.  The  result  was  the  out- 
growth of  a  new  system  of  church  organiza- 
tion which  now  fills  the  earth;  and  the 
development  of  a  spirit  of  earnestness 
which  continues  to  leaven  all  denominations 
within  the  bounds  of  Christendom. 

When  we  turn  to  our  own  country  to  study 
the  leading  phases  of  religious  life  we  come 
at  once  upon  an  almost  unaccountable  de- 
lusion, namely,  the  belief  in  witchcraft.  In 
the  American  mind  witchcraft  is  often  so 
closely  associated  with  certain  absurdities, 
and  tragedies  in  connection  with  the  Salem 
trials  that  its  long  and  wide  prevalence  is 
overlooked.  Sporadic  as  it  may  seem,  it 
was,  in  truth,  a  lineal  descendant  of  the 
magical  wonders  and  mysteries  of  the 
Orient.  By  the  early  Christians  strange 
phenomena  were  unhesitatingly  attributed 
to  the  agency  of  demons.  From  the  sixth 
to  the  twelfth  century  less  of  persecution  ap- 
pears against  those  who  were  believed  to  be 
possessed  of  satanic  power  simply  because 
of  belief  in  the  defensive  value  of  talismans. 
Yet,  from  that  time  there  was  a  gradual  in- 
crease of  the  delusion  up  to  its  climax  at  the 
close  of  the  seventeenth  century. 


286   THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

To  our  cool  and  critical  view  of  such 
things,  founded  upon  inductive  science  and 
common  sense,  it  seems  incredible  that  only 
two  hundred  years  ago  men  and  women  were 
put  to  death  by  individual  fury  and  by  judi- 
cial processes  for  the  crime  of  witchcraft, 
and  yet,  previous  to  the  outbreak  in  the 
Massachusetts  colony  it  is  supposed  that  not 
fewer  than  30,000  in  England,  75,000  in 
France  and  100,000  in  Germany  came  to 
their  death  in  this  way.  It  was  generally  held 
that  spirits  of  an  evil  character  had  com- 
munion with  human  beings  who  yielded  to 
their  malign  influences,  and  who  became, 
therefore,  worthy  of  the  severest  penalties. 
Not  only  are  some  of  the  ablest  ministers  in 
old  and  new  England  on  record  in  defense 
of  the  doctrine  of  devils  and  witchcraft;  but 
also  philosophers  like  Glenvile,  who  was 
one  of  the  earliest  members  of  the  Royal 
Society;  physicians  like  Sir  Thomas  Browne; 
scholars  like  Ralph  Cudworth;  and  jurists 
like  Blackstone;  and  all  that  at  so  late  a 
date  as  1765.  The  process  of  recovery  was 
gradual.  Free  thought  and  aroused  intelli- 
gence dispersed  this  cruel  and  morbid  ob- 
session and,  by  the  beginning  of  the 
following  century,  the  delusion  had  utterly 
vanished. 


THE  MODERN  ERA  28; 

While  Methodism  was  developing  in  Eng- 
land, religious  movements  on  the  western 
side  of  the  Atlantic  were  leavening  and 
modifying  the  life  of  the  churches.  The 
intense  zeal  of  Jonathan  Edwards  at  North- 
ampton produced  the  profoundest  effects  in 
the  time  of  "the  Great  Awakening."  Addi- 
tions to  the  churches  were  numerous  from 
all  classes  of  the  community.  In  New  Jer- 
sey revivals  of  great  power  succeeded  one 
another,  in  large  measure  through  the  elo- 
quence of  Whitfield,  who  was  then  on  his 
second  visit  to  America.  Doubtless,  there 
were  many  extravagances  connected  with 
these  movements,  and  they  were  often  foiled 
by  disappointing  reactions,  yet  the  Christian 
life  of  the  country  was  made  more  fervent 
and  productive  by  this  earnest  and  genuine 
interest  in  vital  religion. 

The  growth  of  religious  sects  in  the  United 
States  from  the  time  of  the  Revolution  was 
marked,  although  attended  with  a  loss  of 
support  from  the  public  treasury.  Doubt- 
less, there  had  been  undercurrents  setting  in 
this  direction  before  the  war  of  revolution, 
but  that  struggle  was  productive  of  new  zeal 
for  the  liberation  of  conscience  and  new 
impulses  toward  denominational  activity. 
There  lingered  some   statutory  restrictions 


288   THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

upon  the  Baptists  in  New  England  and 
upon  Roman  Catholics  outside  of  Maryland 
and  a  few  other  states,  but  these  were  destined 
to  be  removed.  Patrick  Henry,  Jefferson 
and  Madison  were  among  the  earliest  advo- 
cates of  entire  religious  freedom.  When  the 
constitution  of  the  Federal  Government 
came  to  be  formed  one  article  provided  that 
"no  religious  test  shall  ever  be  required  as 
a  qualification  for  any  office  of  public  trust 
in  the  United  States,'*  and,  to  make  assur- 
ance doubly  sure,  the  first  amendment  added 
a  provision  that  "congress  shall  make  no 
law  respecting  an  establishment  of  religion 
or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof." 
There  have  been  important  renderings  from 
the  Supreme  Court  to  the  effect  that  "gen- 
eral Christianity,"  as  distinguished  from  the 
tenets  of  any  particular  sect,  is  a  part  of  the 
common  law  of  the  nation,  in  the  sense  that 
the  Christian  religion  cannot  be  wantonly 
assailed.  So  far  as  the  state  is  concerned 
all  religious  organizations,  all  Christians, 
and,  indeed,  all  non-Christians  of  every 
shade  of  belief  or  denial,  are  granted  full 
protection  and  absolute  freedom  within  the 
bounds  of  good  citizenship. 

Under  this  wide   liberty  Christianity  has 
steadily  grown  in  numbers,  in  resources,  in 


THE  MODERN  ERA  289 

intelligence,  and  in  the  excellence  of  the 
personal  character  of  its  adherents.  Every 
denomination  has,  within  the  last  century, 
recorded  substantial  advancement.  The 
Roman  Catholics  at  the  close  of  the  Revolu- 
tion numbered  less  than  20,000,  but  to-day 
their  communicants  probably  exceed  eight 
millions.  The  Methodist  church  was  then 
just  beginning  to  exist  as  an  organization, 
but  after  the  lapse  of  a  century  it  leads  the 
list  of  Protestant  sects  with  nearly  six  mil- 
lions as  a  grand  total  of  membership,  gath- 
ered from  its  thirteen  branches.  The 
Baptists,  who  at  that  time  had  made  only  a 
hundred  years  of  history  and  were  just  be- 
ginning to  claim  a  place  among  the  religious 
forces  of  the  country,  have  crowded  hard 
upon  the  Methodists  with  a  membership  of 
more  than  four  millions.  Then,  in  order  of 
dimensions,  come  the  Presbyterians,  Luther- 
ans, Congregationalists  and  Episcopalians, 
with  a  number  of  denominations  following, 
respectable  for  strength  of  organization  and 
high  standards  of  thought  and  life. 

Looking  over  the  whole  population  of  the 
world  we  find  that  not  far  from  one-third  of 
humanity  is  to  be  set  down  as  under  the 
general  influence  of  Christianity;  the  pro- 
portion being  about   four  hundred   million 


290  THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

Christians  to  eight  hundred  millions  of  other 
religions.  Yet,  no  statistics  can  give  a  just 
estimate  of  the  potency  of  Christianity  to- 
day. One  must  take  into  consideration  the 
immense  and  significant  changes  in  condi- 
tion and  outlook  which  have  taken  place 
since  Christianity  struggled  for  recognition 
in  that  great  empire  which  for  three  centu- 
ries held  it  in  contempt,  or,  for  that  matter, 
since  the  Reformation  gave  itjreedom  from 
the  oppression  of  a  corrupt  and  tyrannous 
hierarchy.  Never  was  Christianity  so  free 
as  now  to  develop  according  to  its  own 
genius,  to  assert  itself  by  beneficient  influ- 
ence upon  individual  lives,  and  on  the  mass 
of  society,  and  to  extend  itself  at  home  and 
abroad  by  aggressive  measures.  The  ma- 
chinery has  been  devised  and  constructed 
for  the  propagation  of  Christian  sentiments 
in  all  parts  of  the  world.  The  educational 
institutions  which  are  under  the  auspices  of 
religion  are  varied  and  countless;  its  liter- 
ature rich  m  exposition  of  Christian  prin- 
ciples is  not  only  immense  but  constantly 
increasing;  means  and  measures  for  the 
spread  of  religion  on  every  continent  are 
highly  developed;  while  the  Bible  has  been 
translated  into  almost  every  known  language 
and  dialect.     Moreover,  the  idea  of  aggres- 


THE  MODERN  ERA  291 

siveness  is  more  and  more  taking  possession 
of  the  Christian  world,  and  may  be  regarded 
as,  in  some  respects,  the  most  characteristic 
feature  of  the  religious  life  of  the  present 
century. 

This  brings  us  to  the  history  of  Christian 
missionary  enterprise.  The  missions  of  the 
Roman  Catholics  have  been  pushed  forward 
in  every  century  with  greater  or  less  zeal  and 
effect.  Their  methods  have  always  been 
defective  from  a  Protestant  point  of  view,  in 
that  they  seem  to  have  aimed  at  little  more 
than  the  superficial  expression  of  Christian- 
ity. Under  the  Jesuits  there  have  often  been 
fatal  accommodations  to  the  low  standards 
of  morals  prevailing  in  heathen  com- 
munities. Nevertheless  a  noble  army  of 
Roman  Catholic  missionaries  have  exhibited 
pure  devotion  and  unexcelled  heroism. 
Among  South  Sea  Islanders;  in  the  heart  of 
the  Dark  Continent;  among  the  teeming 
millions  of  China;  from  the  coast  of  India 
to  the  mountains  they  have  worked  as- 
siduously; and  in  the  face  of  discomfort, 
torture  and  death  have  displayed  unshrink- 
ing fortitude. 

Among  Protestants  one  finds  the  most 
effective  missionary  service  and  the  bright- 
est instances  of  enthusiasm  for  the  evangeli- 


292  THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

zation  of  the  world.  Missionary  zeal  did 
not  declare  itself  at  once  upon  the  escape  of 
the  Church  from  the  domination  of  Rome. 
Missionary  activity  was  suspended  a  century 
before  the  Reformation.  At  best  it  had 
been  sporadic,  depending  largely  upon  the 
zeal  of  the  Pope  or  the  devotion  of  indi- 
viduals like  St.  Patricius  and  St.  Columba. 
Sometimes  the  methods  employed  were  ex- 
ceedingly faulty,  as,  for  instance,  when 
military  knights  made  conquest  of  Prussia 
and  Poland;  and  when  princes,  with  more 
zeal  than  piety  or  knowledge,  put  political 
constraint  upon  their  subjects.  At  the  time 
of  the  Reformation  the  Oriental  lands  and 
North  Africa  had  been  for  a  century  under 
the  sway  of  Islam,  while  some  of  the  coun- 
tries of  Europe  were  only  nominally  Chris- 
tian. 

The  Reformed  churches  were  at  first  occu- 
pied with  their  own  exigencies;  and  their 
missionary  zeal  was  almost  exclusively  ex- 
pended upon  converting  Catholics  to  the 
Protestant  faith,  and  in  securing  greater  lib- 
erty and  more  complete  organization. 
Moreover,  some  of  the  leaders,  including 
Luther  himself,  looked  for  the  immediate 
"second  coming"  of  the  Lord,  and  seeing 
the  end  so  near  at  hand  felt  small  considera- 


THE  MODERN  ERA  293 

tion  for  the  unconverted  heathen.  This  was 
a  sad  legacy  to  the  Lutheran  Church,  for 
when  a  century  later  any  one  suggested  the 
formation  of  a  special  society  for  extending 
the  benefits  of  the  Gospel,  his  plans  were 
rejected  as  a  "dream"  and  all  such  expendi- 
tures of  effort  were  looked  upon  as  a  waste, 
as  indeed  nothing  short  of  casting  "the  holy 
things  of  God  before  dogs  and  swine." 
But  Christianity  is  for  the  world,  it  is  the 
ultimate  religion  for  all  mankind,  and  a  re- 
turn to  the  missionary  aggressiveness  of  the 
first  century  was  inevitable. 

The  missionary  movement  which  places 
the  present  time  above  any  since  apostolic 
days,  began  to  declare  itself  near  the  close 
of  the  eighteenth  century.  There  were 
active  forces  and  favorable  conditions  widely 
manifesting  themselves,  showing  that  the 
fullness  of  time  had  come  for  a  mighty  at- 
tack upon  the  entrenched  heathenism  of  the 
world.  During  the  middle  ages  there  had 
been  too  much  ignorance  and  confusion  for 
vast  missionary  undertakings.  Social  and 
political  disturbances  had  made  organization 
for  continuous  work  through  incorporated 
societies  out  of  the  question.  Then  followed 
centuries  of  absorption  in  political  and  re- 
ligious strife.     Great  problems  which  occu- 


294  THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

pied  the  attention  and  engaged  the  energies 
of  Christians  had  to  be  worked  out.  But 
toward  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century 
there  was  a  renewal  of  evangelical  religion 
and  a  quickening  of  human  sympathies.  As 
always,  in  art,  philosophy,  politics  or  reli- 
gion there  were  choice  and  fiery  spirits  who 
went  in  advance  of  the  masses,  inspiring  them 
and  leading  them  on  with  clear  thinking  and 
undaunted  zeal.  These  had  caught  the 
secret  of  Christian  love  and  energy.  While 
they  mused  the  fire  burned  in  their  own 
souls  and  prepared  them  for  leadership. 

Among  the  first  and  greatest  of  these  mis- 
sionary leaders  was  William  Carey,  of  undy- 
ing fame,  the  son  of  a  Northamptonshire 
schoolmaster.  He  was  compelled  to  acquire 
an  education  through  hindrances  that  would 
have  discouraged  one  less  eager  for  knowl- 
edge and  usefulness.  When  he  became  a 
pastor  he  urged  upon  his  brother  ministers 
the  project  which  had  taken  such  hold  upon 
his  own  heart — to  give  the  blessed  Gospel  to 
the  people  who  sat  in  the  region  of  the 
shadow  of  death.  At  last  he  went  himself 
to  India,  devoting  himself  to  work,  and  for 
years,  by  word  and  example,  stirring  up 
others  to  interest  themselves  in  the  world's 
redemption. 


THE  MODERN  ERA  295 

In  America  the  earliest  foreign  missionary- 
efforts  were  made  in  1810.  These  originated 
in  a  group  of  students  at  Williams  College, 
who  afterwards  helped  each  other  at  An- 
dover  Seminary  to  shape  the  enterprise,  and 
to  present  it  to  men  of  greater  age  and  influ- 
ence for  their  support.  Missionary  under- 
takings have  not  been  limited  to  any 
denomination  of  Christians  nor  to  any  land 
of  Christendom.  Methodists,  Baptists, 
Congregationalists,  Presbyterians,  High  and 
Low  Church  Episcopalians,  have  vied  with 
one  another  in  zeal  and  generosity.  Amer- 
ica and  England  have  been  foremost  in  the 
work,  but  Germany,  France,  the  Nether- 
lands and  other  Continental  nations  have 
also  furnished  men  and  money  for  vast 
undertakings.  There  are  now  not  fewer 
than  one  hundred  kindred  societies  working 
together  in  harmony  to  win  the  lost  nations 
of  the  world  to  the  Kingdom  of  God.  In 
the  prosecution  of  their  noble  work  they 
,have  encountered  difficulties  simply  enor- 
mous; language,  customs,  prejudices,  have 
all  stood  in  their  way,  but  all  these  obstacles 
have  been  surmounted,  and  to-day  there  are 
12,000  Christian  missionaries  against  fewer 
than  1,000  a  half  century  ago;  and  probably 
not  fewer  than  5,000,000  Christian  converts 


2g6  THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

in  heathen  lands,  with  an  ever  increasing 
ratio  of  progress. 

There  exists  no  considerable  people  on 
the  face  of  the  globe  in  this  first  decade  of 
the  twentieth  century  among  whom  the 
Gospel  is  not  being  preached  with  develop- 
ing power.  It  is  true  that  hundreds  of  mil- 
lions yet  remain  in  savagery,  or  in  the 
gloom  of  twilight  revelations,  but  no  people 
has  been  found  to  be  beyond  the  subduing 
and  quickening  power  of  the  gospel,  and  the 
prospect  is  a  glowing  one  that  another  cen- 
tury will  bring  the  majority  of  the  human 
race  under  the  direct  power  of  Christianity. 

The  story  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church 
in  Europe  during  the  last  two  centuries  is 
one  of  constant  fluctuation.  There  have 
been  times  when  members  of  that  com- 
munion were  under  political  disability,  as 
in  England  until  the  formal  repeal  of  an 
ordinance  against  them,  about  1830.  Some- 
times the  very  existence  of  the  church  has 
been  threatened,  as  during  the  outbreak  of 
the  French  revolution;  and,  later,  under  the 
repressive  edicts  of  Napoleon  I.;  and  some- 
times its  power  has  been  seriously  curtailed, 
as  it  was  by  the  secularization  of  the  ecclesi- 
astical states  of  Germany,  and  by  the  abol- 
ishing of  cloisters  early  in  this  century;   but 


THE  MODERN  ERA  297 

on  the  whole  this  great  organization  has 
quite  held  its  own  against  all  influences, 
political  and  religious,  and  perhaps  never 
did  it  give  better  promise  of  indefinite  con- 
tinuance than  at  the  present  time. 

During  the  last  half  century  two  remark- 
able dogmas  were  established  in  the  Roman 
church,  in  spite  of  the  urgent  opposition  of 
scholarly  and  influential  men  of  her  own 
communion.  In  1854  Pius  IX.  gathered  a 
large  company  of  ecclesiastics  atJRome,  and, 
acting  upon  his  own  responsibility  without 
the  concurrence  of  a  council,  promulgated 
the  dogma  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  of 
the  Virgin  Mary,  which  had  long  been  under 
discussion  among  the  doctors  of  the  church. 
In  1870,  at  an  Oecumenical  Council  at 
Rome,  the  same  Pope  and  his  party,  against 
strong  and  persistent  opposition,  made  a 
declaration  of  Papal  Infallibility.  The 
minority  opposed  to  the  measure  was  large, 
but,  for  fear  of  schism,  they  at  last  yielded 
and  the  Council  confirmed  the  dogma. 

In  nothing  is  the  modern  period  more  re- 
markable than  in  the  development  of  reli- 
gious liberty.  The  heritage  of  freedom  has 
come  to  be  by  most  minds  accepted  as  a 
matter  of  course,  but  it  is  not  to  be  forgot- 
ten that  it  has  been  bought  with  bitter  strug- 


298  THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

gles.  Intolerance  was  long  in  disappearing. 
Oliver  Cromwell  was  one  of  the  first  to  urge 
the  absurdity  of  demanding  liberty  and  not 
giving  it,  and  he  declared  that  he  would  not 
suffer  one  Christian  to  trample  upon  the 
rights  of  another.  Yet  even  under  the  Com- 
monwealth Roman  Catholics  were  excluded 
from  the  privilege  of  voting,  and  holding 
office;  and  the  use  of  the  Prayer-Book  was 
forbidden.  There  was  no  party  that,  having 
the  reins  of  power  given  to  it,  would  have 
done  better.  The  advanced  views  of  an  in- 
dividual like  Sir  Henry  Vane,  for  instance, 
were  acceptable  to  no  body  of  men  in  the 
kingdom. 

All  through  the  eighteenth  century  there 
was  a  wavering  in  respect  to  legislation  and 
practice.  The  Toleration  Act  was  nominally 
in  force,  and  yet  even  with  the  united  efforts 
of  Whigs  and  Latitudinarian  Churchmen  it 
was  nearly  impossible  under  the  most  favor- 
able circumstances  to  legalize  and  sustain  a 
policy  of  comprehension.  By  the  Test  Act, 
and  various  minor  provisions,  both  Non- 
conformists and  Roman  Catholics  were 
placed  under  disabilities,  and  even  when  a 
connivance  at  the  invasion  of  restrictive  laws 
had  become  the  established  rule.  Parliament 
shrank  from  the  broad  assertion  of  religious 


THE  MODERN  ERA  299 

liberty,  as  the  right  of  British  subjects,  and 
as  the  fixed  policy  of  the  State.  Progress 
however  there  was,  halting  and  unsteady,  in 
the  redress  of  one  grievance  after  another, 
but  it  required  a  whole  century  of  agitation 
to  fully  establish  religious  liberty. 

The  men  who  strove  against  oppression  in 
England  did  not  measure  the  significance  of 
their  struggle  so  far  as  general  liberty  of 
conscience  is  concerned.  The  idea  and 
spirit  of  universal  toleration  did  not  possess 
them,  and  therefore  they  did  not  bring  it 
with  them  to  New  England,  where  instances 
of  intolerance  were  by  no  means  wanting. 

The  most  noted  case  of  the  suppression  of 
an  independent  thinker  occurred  in  connec- 
tion with  Roger  Williams.  After  graduat- 
ing from  Cambridge,  he  took  orders  in  the 
Church  of  England,  but  within  five  years 
had  become  in  turn  Puritan,  Separatist  and 
a  Pilgrim  to  the  shores  of  Massachusetts 
Bay.  Successively  engaged  in  preaching  at 
Boston,  Plymouth  and  Salem,  he  everywhere 
indulged  in  outspoken  dissent  from  ecclesi- 
astical or  political  procedure  which  dis- 
pleased him.  The  colonists  had  crossed  the 
sea  for  the  sake  of  their  religious  convic- 
tions, but  they  knew  not  how  patiently  to 
bear  with  "diverse  singular  opinions,"   and. 


300  THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

although  a  man  of  force,  integrity  and  kind- 
liness, who  proved  himself  able  to  found 
and  govern  a  State  in  spite  of  towering  diffi- 
culties, Williams  was  summarily  banished 
from  the  Massachusetts  juisdiction. 

Another  instance  is  found  in  the  excom- 
munication and  banishment  of  the  famous, 
not  to  say  infamous,  "Mrs.  Ann  Hutchin- 
son," who  brought  with  her  from  England  a 
very  active  mind  and  a  very  free  tongue, 
and  who  evidently  excited  sincere  alarm  in 
the  minds  of  many  leaders  of  the  colony 
because  of  her  free  handling  of  some  of  the 
doctrines  of  the  church,  and  because  of  her 
unrestrained  criticism  of  the  ministry.  Her 
influence  undoubtedly  tended  toward  law- 
lessness and  disruption. 

Still  another  instance  is  found  in  the 
treatment  of  the  Massachusetts  Quakers. 
Many  of  the  early  disciples  of  Fox  failed 
to  exemplify  that  quietude  and  meekness 
which  is  now  their  characteristic  and  which 
was  always  properly  connected  with  their 
doctrine  of  non-resistance.  They  were  not 
seldom  grotesque  in  behavior,  and  fanat- 
ically extravagant  in  the  views  which  they 
proclaimed.  They  were  condemned  by  the 
the  General  Court  in  1657  as  blasphemers 
against   God,    seditious    and    disturbers    of 


THE  MODERN  ERA  301 

society.  Some  of  the  measures  passed  for 
their  repression  were  unjust  and  cruel  as 
well  as  ineffectual;  but  it  is  to  be  remem- 
bered that  in  their  half-insane  enthusiasm 
they  were  guilty  of  startling  antics. 

More  or  less  of  intolerance  was  mani- 
fested in  all  the  colonies  of  New  England, 
among  the  Dutch  in  New  Netherlands,  in 
Virginia  among  the  Episcopalians,  and  in 
Maryland  where  the  Catholics  predominated. 
But  there  was  one  colony,  destined  to  be- 
come the  Key-Stone  State,  where  tolerance 
prevailed.  The  Quaker  William  Penn  hav- 
ing obtained  a  large  grant  of  land  in  1681 
from  Charles  II.  came  to  this  country  seek- 
ing to  provide  an  asylum  for  persecuted 
Christians  of  his  own  faith.  He  gave  free- 
dom and  equality  of  rights  in  all  matters  of 
religion  to  all  people;  while  by  his  fair  deal- 
ing with  the  Indians  he  laid  the  foundation 
for  a  peace  which  was  never  marred  by  an 
outrage  against  the  savages,  nor  by  a  single 
outbreak  on  their  part. 

Theology  has  been  working  itself  out,  but 
not  to  final  conclusions.  Indeed  that  can 
never  be  on  earth,  yet,  comparatively  speak- 
ing, we  have  reached  completeness  and  bal- 
ance of  doctrines.  These  good  results  have 
been   attained    by  the   operation   of  forces 


302    THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

acting  together  from  opposite  directions 
upon  the  same  object.  Contributions  to 
truth  have  been  made  by  Calvinism  and 
Arminianism,  by  advocates  of  Inability  and 
Natural  Ability,  by  adherents  of  the  Gov- 
ernmental and  the  Moral  theories  of  the 
atonement;  by  Natural  Theology  and 
Revealed  Religion,  and  by  lovers  of  sim- 
plicity and  of  elaboration  in  forms  of  wor- 
ship. 

We  have  conserved  the  elements  of  truth 
in  mysticism,  pantheism  and  humanitarian- 
ism,  and  have  incorporated  them  all  into 
general  thought.  The  same  is  true  of  what- 
ever was  best  in  the  reaction  toward  Uni- 
tarianism  and  Universalism  from  too  severe 
dogmatism.  Much  yet  remains  to  be 
gained  in  the  way  of  penetration  and  com- 
prehension, and  much  toward  the  perfecting 
of  Christian  charity  and  liberality,  but  we 
are  now  in  the  way  that  leads  to  the  at- 
tainment of  these  things. 

The  twentieth  century  inherits  a  con- 
troversy concerning  the  value  of  historical 
criticism  in  the  study  of  the  structure  of  the 
Bible.  Many  are  content  to  accept  the  writ- 
ten word  according  to  the  traditional  views, 
magnifying  the  work  of  inspiration  in  shap- 
ing every  part  of  it  and  deprecating  as  de- 


THE  MODERN  ERA  303 

structive  every  attempt  to  analyze  its 
contents  with  a  view  to  determining  its  per- 
sonal and  local  characteristics.  Many  who 
devote  themselves  to  this  study  are  both 
profound  in  scholarship  and  reverence,  and 
sincerely  believe  that  the  book  will  open  it- 
self to  men  more  richly  and  helpfully  as  it  is 
better  understood,  both  on  the  human  and 
the  divine  side. 

So  far  as  practical  reforms  are  concerned 
changes  of  immeasurable  import  have  come 
about,  sometimes  by  convulsion,  more  often 
by  orderly  evolution.  The  total  effect  of 
these  changes  has  been  such  a  modification 
of  society  as  to  make  within  the  circle  of 
the  most  highly  civilized  lands,  a  new  world. 
Slavery  has  been  forever  abolished  from 
Christendom.  This  institution,  although 
hoary  with  antiquity,  is  so  illogical  and  in- 
human, that  being  once  free  from  it  we  stand 
aghast  at  its  enormity.  It  was  too  deeply 
rooted  in  the  sentiments  and  customs  of  the 
race  to  be  wholly  extirpated  by  the  Mosaic 
legislation  which  was  compelled  to  content 
itself  with  the  restriction  and  important 
modification  of  existing  wrongs.  Christian- 
ity found  it  no  longer  in  vogue  among  the 
people  of  Israel,  but,  strongly  entrenched 
everywhere  else  throughout  the  Roman  Em- 


304   THE   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

pire.  To  have  attempted  its  abolition  by  an 
authoritative  fiat  would  have  been  a  fool- 
hardy act.  Every  principle  of  Christ's  own 
life  and  teaching  was  adverse  to  this 
iniquitous  institution  but,  as  in  the  case  of 
so  many  flagrant  wrongs,  lying  within  the 
province  of  the  state.  He  waited  with  divine 
patience  for  its  overthrow  by  a  process  of 
education  and  reform.  By  the  middle  of 
the  eighteenth  century  the  English  people 
began  to  awaken  to  a  sense  of  its  moral 
enormity,  and  individuals  were  not  wanting 
with  convictions  and  the  courage  of  utter- 
ance. The  nineteenth  century  was,  never- 
theless, on  the  wane  before  a  great  convul- 
sion brought  the  system  to  a  perpetual  end 
in  the  English-speaking  world.  Since  the 
banishment  of  this  evil  from  our  own  country 
the  emancipation  of  bondmen  and  serfs  has 
followed  in  Russia  and  Brazil,  and  now  the 
inhuman  custom  hides  itself  within  the 
bounds  of  the  darkest  continents. 

The  duel,  an  evil  of  smaller  proportions 
and  yet  almost  as  manifestly  unchristian,  is 
dying  a  lingering  death.  A  false  code  of 
social  honor  prevailed  for  a  long  period 
binding  one  who  was  challenged  to  mortal 
combat  to  accept  the  issue,  and  compelling 
men  to  resent  even  a  fancied  insult  by  a 


THE  MODERN  ERA  305 

challenge.  Not  only  have  lives  of  great 
value  to  the  world  been  sacrificed  on  this 
Moloch,  but  the  very  framework  of  society 
itself  has  been  disturbed,  and  the  moral 
sentiments  have  been  perverted.  This  cus- 
tom at  length  has  been  generally  abolished, 
partly  by  legislation  and  partly  by  the  in- 
crease of  enlightenment. 

The  struggle  for  the  suppression  of  lot- 
teries of  both  open  and  obscure  forms  is  still 
in  progress.  Ground  for  encouragement  is 
found  in  the  fact  that  the  evil  character  of 
all  ventures  by  which  money  is  gained  with- 
out due  compensation  in  productive  labor 
has  been  set  forth  alike  in  the  general  judg- 
ment of  men,  and  in  the  legislative  action 
of  nearly  every  civilized  government. 

Perhaps  the  same  declaration  ought  to  be 
made  regarding  the  evil  of  intemperance. 
The  century  opens  with  the  saloon  still 
firmly  established.  But  the  wrongs  inflicted 
by  this  institution  upon  individuals  and  the 
peril  ^which  it  brings  to  society  have  been 
made  so  conspicuous,  and  such  ceaseless 
warfare  is  being  waged  against  it  by  legisla- 
tion and  by  the  best  influences  of  the  day, 
that  the  final  issue  cannot  be  doubtful. 

As  to  public  morals,  immense  gain  has 
been  made  in  the  creation  of  a  sentiment  as 


3o6   THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

wide  as  Christendom  against  drunkenness, 
and  immorality  of  every  kind.  One  has  to 
go  back  but  few  decades  to  encounter  a  pre- 
vailing concession  to  the  personal  habits  of 
men  of  eminence  in  government  and  society. 
It  was  held  that  the  public  could  rightfully 
concern  itself  only  with  conduct  that 
directly  violated  the  obligations  of  public 
service.  To-day  evil  living  is  not  merely 
accounted  a  disgrace  for  a  man  in  high  posi- 
tion, but  is  rapidly  becoming  a  bar  to  such 
offices  as  lie  within  the  range  of  popular 
suffrage.  There  have  also  been  great  im- 
provements in  the  morals  of  the  community. 
The  tokens  of  advance  in  the  good  order  of 
cities  can  only  be  appreciated  by  recalling 
periods  of  disorder  from  which  the  civilized 
world  has  escaped.  Within  the  limits  of  a 
lifetime  the  night  has  been  a  cover  for  deeds 
of  shame  and  violence.  Many  influences 
have  combined  to  banish  crimes  that  once 
entrenched  themselves  in  the  purlieus  of 
every  metropolis.  Night  no  longer  protects 
criminals.  The  flash  of  the  electric  light 
opens  every  alley  to  inspection.  There  is  a 
better  and  ever-improving  system  of  police 
patrol,  while  by  the  uplift  of  the  masses 
the  majority  of  men  have  become  home- 
keeping  and  orderly.  ' 


THE  MODERN  ERA  307 

No  student  of  our  times  can  imagine  for  a 
moment  that  the  work  of  reform  is  finished. 
Evil  still  exists  and  wrongs  against  indi- 
viduals and  classes  are  still  perpetrated. 
Social  science  is  still  crude  and  the  "labor 
movement"  is  still  in  its  infancy.  But,  on 
the  other  hand,  he  would  be  dull  or  un- 
grateful who  did  not  thankfully  acknowledge 
the  advancement  of  human  society  in  all 
things  that  touch  the  mental,  moral  and 
physical  welfare  of  mankind.  Whereas, 
once  the  great  mass  of  the  people  were 
beneath  the  level  of  sufficiency  and  decency, 
the  vast  majority  are  now  living  in  comfort 
and  hope;  and  whereas  once  there  prevailed 
ignorance  and  superstition  darkening  the 
lives  of  the  many,  we  now  mark  the  small 
percentage  of  the  illiterate,  and  smile  at 
superstitions  which  were  once  cruelly  reg- 
nant. 

It  is  not  enough  to  note  the  changes  which 
have  been  wrought  in  the  way  of  the  modi- 
fication of  laws  and  customs  which  condition 
society;  it  is  necessary,  also,  to  take  into 
account  the  ideas  which  have  become  im- 
planted in  the  minds  of  men,  and  which,  by 
the  highest  law  of  development,  are  bound 
to  germinate. 

In  religion,  the  idea  of  the  fatherhood  of 


3o8   THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

God  is  governing  the  minds  of  men.  Some 
are  still  struggling  with  a  different  notion 
of  deity,  transmitted  from  gloomier  ages 
when  men  were  bred  to  the  notion  of 
monarchy  and  absolutism  in  both  state  and 
church.  But  it  is  safe  to  say  that  religious 
thinking  must  now  be  based  on  this  funda- 
mental truth,  that  God  by  the  inmost  law  of 
his  being  and  in  his  relation  to  those  who 
have  life  from  him,  is  an  everlasting  Father. 
Out  of  this  basic  truth  has  at  last  sprung 
the  conception  of  the  common  brotherhood 
of  the  race.  The  phrase  "universal  brother- 
hood," is  becoming  a  truism  and  the  idea 
is  rooting  itself  in  Christian  consciousness. 
From  this  arises,  of  necessity,  not  only  a 
wider  philanthropy  and  a  more  genuine  sym- 
pathy, but  a  sense  of  the  inherent  dignity 
and  worth  of  the  meanest  individual.  There 
is  being  recognized  a  potency  for  good  in 
every  child  in  God's  great  family.  With 
this  better  appreciation  of  the  individual 
there  is  rapidly  developing  an  idea  of  the 
common  good,  and  the  regnancy  of  social 
motives.  Because  every  human  unit  is  of 
dignity  and  value,  society,  which  is  the 
organization  into  the  unity  of  public  life  of 
the  aggregate  of  human  units,  is  of  supreme 
worth,    and    whatever   practice    or    pursuit 


THE  MODERN  ERA  309 

militates  against  the  general  interests  of 
society  must  therefore  stand  condemned. 

Thus  has  come  about  the  gradual  annihila- 
tion of  another  notion  which  has  held  place 
for  centuries,  and  has  wrought  much  wrong. 
There  is  now  no  "divine  right  of  kings," — 
except  the  right  to  be  noble,  and  to  do  serv- 
ice for  humanity  according  to  the  oppor- 
tunities of  life, — and  that  is  the  divine  right 
of  every  man.  All  government  is  for  the 
people;  and  for  the  highest  good  of  all  the 
people.     Public  office  is  a  public  trust. 

Among  the  other  results  of  a  truer  sense 
of  the  Divine  Character  and  of  individual 
worth  is  to  be  reckoned  a  new  sensibility  to 
human  pain.  Up  to  the  most  recent  times, 
men  have  been  phenomenally  indifferent  to 
the  suffering  of  their  fellow  men.  They  did 
not  put  themselves  in  the  place  of  the  unfor- 
tunate and  the  wretched,  and  their  sym- 
pathies were  untouched.  The  idea  that 
suffering  and  want  must  be  as  far  as  possible 
avoided  or  alleviated,  now  rules  throughout 
the  civilized  world.  There  is  an  aversion  to 
cruelty  in  both  its  positive  and  negative 
forms.  The  days  of  physical  torture  have 
forever  gone  by;  they  have,  indeed,  become 
one  of  the  incredible  records  of  history. 
Prison  reform  is  a  hundred  years  old,  and 


3IO   THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

still  the  good  work  goes  on.  The  dirt  and 
disease,  the  shame  and  cruelty  which  John 
Howard  and.  Elizabeth  Fry  found  in  every 
prison  of  Europe  have  been  largely  ban- 
ished, and  the  whole  trend  of  penal  science 
is  not  only  toward  cleanliness  and  health, 
but  also  toward  the  recovery  of  manhood 
and  citizenship.  Sensibility  to  human 
suffering  has  developed  into  a  positive 
enthusiasm  for  humanity;  as  is  evinced  in 
the  most  varied  and  intense  efforts  to  re- 
lieve and  uplift  men.  The  philanthropic 
schemes  of  the  day  are  numberless,  and  em- 
brace both  the  temporal  comfort  and  the 
higher  welfare  of  all  classes  and  conditions 
of  men. 

But  all  the  gain  has  not  been  merely  on 
the  side  of  the  unfortunate;  the  idea  of  the 
wholesomeness  of  life  prevails,  to  the  advan- 
tage of  the  most  favored.  This  is  in  strik- 
ing contrast  with  sad  blunders  made  by 
ascetics  of  earlier  days,  cramping  and  warp- 
ing human  life,  not  only  by  forcing  men  to 
adopt  a  distinctive  career  of  poverty  and 
privation  in  monasteries,  but  robbing  all 
who  aimed  at  the  cultivation  of  piety  of  the 
natural  buoyancy  and  freedom  of  living. 
Now,  all  of  life  is  seen  to  be  beautiful,  noble 
and  ennobling  if  the  heart  be  only  pure  and 


THE  MODERN  ERA  311 

kind  and  the  face  uplifted  in  trust  and  aspira- 
tion toward  God. 

The  process  of  redemption  still  goes  on. 
Wide  reaches  are  yet  to  be  covered,  for 
there  are  wrongs  to  be  righted  and  gains  to 
be  made.  Inequalities  of  property  and 
privilege  breed  discontent.  Problems  as 
intricate  and  difficult  as  any  in  the  past 
must  be  solved  before  social  order  reaches 
perfection  and  finality.  But,  while  many 
endure  hardship  and  some  are  disheartened, 
the  noblest  are  sharing  Victor  Hugo's  "irre- 
pressible ardor  to  ameliorate  the  lot  of  all 
who  suffer."  Sin  and  sorrow  still  abound, 
but  there  is  a  force  in  the  world  of  inex- 
haustible energy  and  persistence  which 
works  toward  social  regeneration.  Chris- 
tianity has  established  itself.  It  is  the  ulti- 
mate religion  and  to  the  end  will  furnish  the 
loftiest  ideals  for  the  individual  and  for 
society.  Fulfilling  its  heaven  -  appointed 
mission,  it  is  ever  adapting  itself  to  the 
circumstances  of  men  under  changing  social 
conditions.  At  every  stage  of  advancement, 
from  the  lowest  to  the  highest,  it  will  be 
found  true  of  it,  as  Goethe,  in  one  of  his 
conversations  with  Eckermann,  said:  "Let 
mental  culture  continually  increase,  let  the 
natural  sciences  grow,  broadening  and  deep- 


312   THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

ening  in  their  progress,  let  the  human  mind 
expand  as  it  will, — beyond  the  elevation  and 
moral  culture  of  Christianity,  as  it  gleams 
and  shines  forth  in  the  Gospels,  men  will 
never  advance." 


INDEX 


Abelard,  140,  141. 

Accommodation  to  pre- 
vailing standards,  32. 

Addison,  280. 

Alaric,  104. 

Alexander  VI.,  171. 

Alexandria,  School  of, 
55,  86. 

Alfred,  The  Great,  235. 

Alva,  Duke  of,  215. 

Ambrose,  of  Milan,  87, 
95. 

Anagni,  162. 

Anthony,  Patron  Saint 
of  Anchorites,  83. 

Antioch,  School  of,  86. 

Anselm,  141, 

Apostolic  period,  14,  21, 

23. 

Rapid  advance,  28. 

Apostles,  their  various 
fields,  27. 

"Apologies,"  54. 

Apollinaris,  91. 

Aquinas,  Thomas,  140, 
142. 

Aristides,  First  of  Apolo- 
gists, 54. 

Arius,  90. 

Arianism,  90. 

Asceticism,  81. 

Assisi,  St.  Francis  of,  137. 

Athanasius,  87,  95. 

Attila,  105. 

Augpistine,  St.,  the  theo- 
logian, 88,  89,  93. 


Augustine,  missionary 
abbot,  105. 

Augsburg,  194,  206,  208. 

Austria,  Reforms  in  re- 
ligion, 272. 

Avignon,  162. 

• '  Babylonian  captivity, ' ' 

The,  159. 
Basil,  of  Cappadocia,  87, 

95. 
Basel,  Council  of,  169. 
Benevolence,  Introduced 

by  Christianity,  32,  33. 
Bernard,  St.,  132,  136. 
Black  Plague,  180. 
Bouillon,  Godfrey  de,i3i. 
Boniface,       Legate       to 

Pepin  III.,  III. 
Boniface  VIII.,  157. 
Britain,        christianized, 

105. 
Bulgarians,  127. 

Canon  of  Scripture,  34, 

35,  52. 
Carthage,  Council  of,  93. 
Carlstadt,  200. 
Catherine  Von  Bora,  nun 

who   married    Luther, 

202. 
Calvin,  John,  218. 
Catharine  de  Medici,  226, 

228. 
Canossa,  148. 
Cajetan,    Cardinal,    194, 

196. 


313 


314 


INDEX 


Carey,  William,  294. 
Cavaliers,  254. 
Church,   early   organiza- 
tion, 29,  45,  46. 

Moral  character,  31. 
Charity,  33. 
Christianity,  extent  of  in 
third  century,  37,  39. 
Task  undertaken,  40, 

42,  103. 
Revolutionaryforces, 

42,  44- 
At  decay  of  Empire, 

74. 
Among  new  nations, 

lOI. 

Edifices,  47,  143. 
Chalcedon,    Council    of, 

78. 
Chrysostom,  John,  87. 
Chalons,  Decisive  battle, 

105. 
Church  and    state,    109, 

146,  149- 
Charlemagne,  11 1,  120. 
China,    early  missionary 

triumphs,  130. 
Charles  Martel,  100. 
Charles,    Emperor,    198, 

204,  214. 
Charles   IX.   of    France, 

226. 
Charles  I.   of    England, 

252. 
Charles  II.  of  England, 

254. 
Christian     II.      III.      of 

Sweden,  211,  212. 
Clairvaux,  137. 
Clement  V.,  160. 
Clement,    "Epistles  of," 

53. 


Clement,      Flavius      "of 

Alexandria,"  55. 
Clovis,  King  of  Franks, 

108. 
Clotide,  wife  of   Clovis, 

108. 
Commodus,  64. 
Constantine,  68,  76. 
Constantius,  76. 
Constance,     Council    of, 

165. 
Constantinople,    Council 

of,  94. 
Cordova,  Council  of,  129. 
Coligni,     Admiral,     226, 

228. 
Cond6,  Prince,  226. 
"Conformity,"  259. 
Crusades,  130,  134. 
Cromwell,    Oliver,     253, 

298. 
Cyril  of  Alexandria,  87. 

Dark  Ages,  The,  113. 
Dante,  159. 
Decius,  64,  67. 
Denmark,    christianized, 
127. 
Reformation  in,  211. 
"Deists,"  The,  279. 
Diognetus,    Epistles    of, 

53. 
Dissenters,  249. 
Dominicans,  135. 
Duelling,  304. 

Ebionism,  51. 

Eck,  Dr.  John,  opponent 
of  Luther,  196, 197,  199. 

Edifices  of  early  Chris- 
tianity, 47,  48,  143. 

Edwin,  King  of  North- 
umbria,  106. 


INDEX 


315 


Edward  I.   of  England, 

157. 
Edward  III.  of  England, 

162,  236. 
Edward  VI.  of  England, 

242,  244. 
Edwards,  Jonathan,  287. 
Education,  in  early  New 

England,  272, 
Egbert,  King  of  Wessex, 

120. 
Egmont,  215. 
Eisleben,    birthplace    of 

Luther,  195,  202. 
England,  in  the  Middle 

Ages,  120. 

Reformation,  231. 
Elizabeth,    of    England, 

245. 
Encyclopedists,  The,  279. 
Ephesus,  Council  of,  92. 
Erasmus,  185,  204. 
Erfurt,     University    of, 

198. 
Eusebius,  of  Caesarea,  87. 

Farel,  Leader  in  French 
Reformation,  217,  222. 
France,    in    the    Middle 
Ages,  120. 

Reformation,        216, 

225. 
In    eighteenth    cen- 
tury, 276. 
Frederick  I.  of  Germany, 

132. 
Frederick     11.    of     Ger- 
many, 148. 
Francis,    St.,    of  Assisi, 

137- 
Franciscans,  160. 
Francis  I.,  173,  216. 


Galerius,  67,  68. 
Gaul,  christianized,  108. 
Gaunt,  John  of,  181. 
George,  Duke,   patron  of 

Luther,  197. 
Germany,    christianized, 

107. 
Beginning  of  nation- 
ality, 124. 
Reformation,  193. 
In    eighteenth     cen- 
tury, 273. 
Gibbon,     the     historian, 

280. 
Goths,  loi. 

Gothic  architecture,  143. 
Godfrey  de  Bouillon,  131. 
Greek  culture,  21,  176. 
Gregory,  St. ,  '  'the  Theo- 
logian," 94, 
Gregory,    Pope,    sending 

missionary  to    Saxons, 

106,  235, 
Gregory  III.,  no. 
Gregory  VII.,  157. 
Gregory    IX.,    Pope,    of 

Fifth  Crusade,  133. 
Gnosticism,  48,  50. 
Guise,  Dukes  of,  227. 
Gustavus  Vasa,  212. 

Hadrian,  62. 

Heathenism  of  first  cen- 
tury, 21,  22. 

Hejira,  of  Mohammed, 9 7. 

Heloise,  142. 

Henry  IV.  of  Germany, 
148. 

Henry  II.  of  France,  225. 

Henry  III.  of  France, 
228. 

Henry  IV.  of  France,  229. 


3i6 


INDEX 


Henry  VIII.  of  England, 

173,  238. 
Heresies,  48. 
Herbert,  Lord,  280. 
Hobbes,  Thomas,  280. 
Hierarchical  tendencies, 

46,  77,  156. 
Hooper,  Bishop,  262. 
Hoi}'-     Roman     Empire, 

124. 
Hume,  David,  280. 
Huguenots,  227. 
Huns,  104. 
Hus,  John,  166,  182. 
Hutchinson,    Mrs.    Ann, 

300. 

Indulgences,  195. 
Inquisition,  214. 
Institutes  of  Calvin,  220. 
Innocent  III.,  157. 
Innocent  VIII.,  171. 
lona,  84. 
Irenaeus,  56. 
Italy,     Reformation     in, 
213. 

James    I.    of    England, 

251. 
James  II.    of    England, 

255. 
Jerome,  St.,  87. 
Jesuitism,  276. 
Jewish  Church,  15-20. 
Joseph    II.    of    Austria, 

272. 
John  XXII.,  160,  165. 
Julian,  the  Apostate,  76. 
Julius  II.,  172. 
Justin  Martyr,  54. 

Koran,  The,  98. 


Language  of  the  new 
nations,  117. 

Latimer,  239. 

Laud,  Archbishop,  253 

Law,  William,  283. 

Leo  I.,  78. 

Leo  III.,  III. 

Leo  X.,  173,  193. 

Literature,  Early,  53. 

Locke,  John,  280. 

Lollardism,  237. 

Lefevre,  Jacques,  "Father 
of  French  Reforma- 
tion," 216. 

Lotteries,  305. 

Lord's  Day,  30. 

Lord's  Supper,  81. 

Louis  le  Debonair,  122. 

Louis  VII.,  123. 

Louis  IX.,  124. 

Lorraine,  Duke  of,  131. 

Loyola,  214. 

Lorenzo,  the  Magnifi- 
cent, 172. 

Lucinius,  70. 

Lull,  Raymond,  143. 

Luther,  Martin,  194. 

Marcus  Aurelius,  63,  64. 

Mariolatry,  80. 

Martin  V.,  168. 

Mary      of      England, 
"Bloody  Mary,"  244. 

Mary  of  England,  Wil- 
liam and  Mary,  256. 

Maxentius,  69. 

Maximilian,  Emperor  of 
Germany,  173. 

Mecca,  97. 

Medici,  Catharine  de,226. 

Melancthon,  Philip,  203, 
204,  206. 


INDEX 


317 


Methodism,  281. 
Michael  Angelo,  172. 
Middle  Ages,  The,  113, 
Missionary  enterprise  of 

nineteenth        century, 

291,  296. 
Mohammedanism,         its 

rise,  96. 

Development,  98. 
Modern  era,  268. 
Monasticism,  81,  134. 
Moravians,  127,  273. 
More,  Sir  Thomas,  186. 
Modem  civilization,  115. 
Morals,  public,  improved, 

306. 

Nantes,  Edict  of,  229. 

Nationality,   the  growth 
of,  155. 

Navarre,  King  of,  226. 

Nero,  author  of  first  per- 
secution, 56,  60. 

Netherlands,      Reforma- 
tion in  the,  214. 

Nestorius,  92. 

Newton,  Sir  Isaac,  280. 

Newman,    Cardinal,    on 
Councils,  94. 
On  Gothic  architec- 
ture, 144. 

Nicaea.   Council   of,   90, 

91. 
Nicholas  V.,  169. 
Norman  Conquest,  120. 
Norway,      christianized, 

127. 
Reformation  in,  211. 
Nuremburg,    Peace     of, 

207. 

Occam,  William  of,  177. 


Origen,    of    Alexandria 

55. 
Ostrogoths,  loi. 

Patriarchal  literature,  53. 
Patricius,     St.     Patrick, 

106. 
Paul,  St.,  Conversion  of, 

26. 
Pelagius,  72. 
Pepin,      Alliance      with 

Gregory  III.,  iii. 
Penn,  William,  301. 
Persecutions,    The    Cen- 
turies of,  36. 
Three  sources  of,  57, 
60. 
Persia,    in     the     Middle 

Ages,  129. 
Peter  the  Hermit,  130. 
Philip  the  Fair  of  France, 

157- 
Philip     II.     of     France 

(Third  Crusade),  132. 
Philip  II.  of  Spain,  214. 
Pilgrims,  270. 
Pisa,  Council  of,  164. 
Pius  IV.,  Pope,  297. 
Plymouth  Colony,  271. 
Pope,  Origin  of  name  and 

office,  79. 
Polycarp,  Epistle  to  Phil- 

ippians,  54. 
Poland,        christianized, 

128. 
Prussia,       christianized, 

128. 
Purgatory,  89. 
Puritanism,  232,  246,  248, 

257,  264. 

Quakers,  The,  300. 


3i8 


INDEX 


Reformation,  The,  Look- 
ing toward  it,  152. 
The  Lutheran,  188 

Religion  in  the  Constitu- 
tion, 288. 

Religious  Statistics,  289. 

Revival  of  learning,  174. 

Richard,  Coeur  de  Lion, 
132. 

"Ritter  George,"  Martin 
Luther  at  Wartburg, 
200. 

Roman   Empire,    Extent 
and  unity  of  the,  20. 
The  fall  of  the,  73. 
104. 

Roman  Catholics,  of 
eighteenth  century, 
289,  296. 

Roundheads,  254. 

Russia,  christianized,  128. 

Saint  Bartholomew's 
Day,  228. 

Saint  Germain,  227. 

Saint  Dunstan,  236. 

Saladin,  132. 

Savonarola,  183. 

Scholasticism,  138. 

Scotus,  Duns,  140. 

Servetus,  223, 

Sigismund,  Emperor, 
167. 

Sixtus  IV.,  171. 

Smalcald,  League  of,  207. 

Sorbonne,  The,  217. 

Slavery  Abolished,  303. 

Spain,  In  the  Middle 
Ages,  129. 

Reformation  in,  213. 

Stuart,  Kings  of  Eng- 
land, 250. 


Sweden,  Reformation  in, 
211. 

In    eighteenth    cen- 
tury, 274, 
Swedenborg,  274. 
Synagogue,  17. 

Tauler,  The  Mystic,  178. 
Teaching  of  the  Twelve 

Apostles,  53. 
Temperance,    Cause    of, 

305- 

Tetzel,  sale  of  Indul- 
gences, 195. 

Theodoric,  105. 

Theses,  of  Luther,  195. 

Thomas  Aquinas,  140, 
142. 

Torgau,  League  of,  206. 

Trajan,  Rule  for  perse- 
cutions, 61,  62. 

Turtullian,  55. 

Urban  II.,  130. 
Urban  VI.,  162. 
Utrecht,  Union  of,  215. 

Vandals,  loi. 

Von  Bora,  Catharine,  nun 

who    married    Luther, 

202. 
Voltaire,  278. 
Vulgate,  The,  87. 

Wartburg,  Castle  of,  200. 
Wesley,  John.  282. 
Wesley,  Charles,  284. 
Westphalia,     Peace     of, 

216,  230. 
Williams,  Roger,  299. 
Witchcraft,  285. 


INDEX 


319 


Wittenberg,  195,  196. 
William  of  Orange,  215. 
William   the  Conqueror, 

236. 
William,        Prince        of 

Orange,  "William  and 

Mary,"  256. 
Whitefield,  George,  284. 


Wolsey,  Cardinal,  239. 
Worms,  Diet  of,  198. 
Wyclif,  166,  i8o,  236. 

Zinzendorf,   of  Moravia, 

273. 
Zurich,  210, 
Zwingli,  Ulrich,  209, 


'7^      '      »    -f-^ 

BW901 .546 

The  story  of  the  Christian  centuries, 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1   1012  00015  7414 


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